Letting Her Go
by Amaylee
Summary: Despite their love for her, Hikaru and Kaoru know that Haruhi deserves a man she doesn't have to share with his twin brother. Can they overcome their love and jealousy to help guide her into happiness, or will they lose the center of their world in the process? (HaruhixTwins) (HaruhixTamaki) (Lemony) (AU with no host club)
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** Hey guys. Amelie here. This is the first installment of my Ouran fic I've been working on for a while now. It's kind of slow going but I'm hoping to use it as practice to elongate and mature my writing style, since I've really hit a wall with developing my skills in the last few years - basically since hitting adulthood - YAWN! I want to make it a little bit lemony, but I'll highlight those paragraphs if you prefer to skip them.

This is a grown-up AU fic where the host club itself just didn't happen. I'll do my best to keep them in-character but obviously there'll be a few changes both because they're older and have had different influences.

Hope you enjoy! Please leave me some feedback.

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Haruhi hardly looked up as she returned to her desk. A mop of red hair was spinning back and forth idly in her seat.

"Hikaru, what are you doing?" she muttered, with little interest.

"I'm boooored," he whined in response, slumping his head into his hands.

"And I'm working," she said flatly. "Where's Kaoru?"

She placed the files she had collected on her desk and ran her fingers through Hikaru's velvet hair, making him practically purr as he pushed his head into her hand.

"He's working too," the man pouted like a child.

Haruhi caught her boss's reflection in the window. His arms had crossed and he scowled, but he was far too intimidated by the Hitachiin name to forcefully evict the intruder. Business was booming since the family had begun to use his law firm, and passed the name onto their friends. Haruhi hoisted her friend out of the chair by his elbow, depositing him on the edge of the desk where he sat swinging his legs. Isamu flinched as he saw his young intern handling his prized customer with such informality, but he knew she was the only reason the Hitachiins had come to his firm.

Hikaru eyed her pleadingly.

"Look, if you want something to do you can run these through the shredder for me, kay?" she handed him her waste basket.

He grinned and shot off across the office. Isamu took the opportunity to approach his intern.

"Is Mr. Hitachiin here on business?" he asked as casually as he could.

"No. Sorry sir..." she mumbled, opening a file on her computer.

"It's quite alright," he lied, "but I really need this report finishing before six."

She nodded and he turned to walk away.

"Out of curiosity... what exactly _is_ your relationship to the Hitachiin family?"

In the time it took Haruhi to consider a polite answer, Hikaru had returned and draped himself over the back of her chair, wrapping his arms around her.

"She's our toy," he beamed, playfully kissing her cheek as she swatted him away.

"You're a pain in my butt," she grumbled under her breath.

"You still haven't got over that from last week?" he gave a sleazy look and reclaimed his perch on her desk.

Haruhi sighed and gathered her composure, "This is Hikaru Hitachiin, sir."

"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Hitachiin. I usually have dealings with your parents rather than yourself and your brother."

Hikaru shook his outstretched hand. He turned to Haruhi again, and she could quickly see the boredom growing in his face. She handed him a large stack.

"Photocopy," she said bluntly and he bounced off again.

"Miss. Fujioka, those are sensitive documents..." Isamu started, afraid of hurting his relationship with their top client.

"Don't worry, sir, he won't read anything without pictures."

"Is this a... uh... common occurrence?" he asked, gesturing to Hikaru at the photocopier.

"They like to come by if I ever work late alone," she blushed and lowered her voice, "they're quite protective."

Isamu let the conversation rest at the back of his mind as he returned to his private office to take a call. He was glad Haruhi had some friends, as the girl always seemed to work so hard. She rarely spoke about her personal life, even to the other female lawyer in the company. But he couldn't have his rising star being distracted... yet here he was, distracted himself. He shook his head and returned his attention back to the call, thankful Master Suoh liked to ramble.

Watching Haruhi type was completely hypnotic to Hikaru. He watched intently as her mouth shaped the words, far too fast for him to keep up with. He contented himself with doodling, cheekily sketching her concentration-face. He could have done just the same thing sat in his own office with Kaoru, but he'd attended a meeting with his father over the weekend and knew his brother had gotten some extra alone time in with Haruhi. He was making up for that.

Haruhi watched him from the corner of her eye. Partially to keep an eye on him, and partially because he was being so damn quiet and well behaved she couldn't help but smile at how cute he was. Usually the more mischievous of the two, she had an extra appreciation when she got to spend some time with Hikaru when he was calm and quiet. She heard him shift from beside her, and soon felt his soft hand combing through her hair.

"Will you be much longer?" he asked softly. She knew he didn't want to bother her.

"Shouldn't be more than half an hour to finish this, then I need to file away those papers you copied for me," she leaned her head back into his hands and looked up at him, smiling.

He left a gentle peck on her forehead before allowing her to continue her work. He went back to sketching, this time an animated style of her boss, getting up to no good with the secretary.

Isamu was quickly losing patience with the man on the line. No, he didn't want to know all about the new trick his dog had learned. No, he didn't want to know about what he was having for dinner. No, he certainly wasn't interested in his new satin bed sheets. Nor did he want to take a visit to see them.

Mei, his secretary, could see her boss becoming frustrated and sent him a quick instant message on the company's in-house communication system.

_Perhaps hand him over to someone else?_

She saw him shaking his head, knowing he didn't want to lose the interest the Suoh's had gained in his company by passing him off to a lesser employee, despite the fact the man seemed to be calling for nothing more than a chat. Upon finally hanging up, Isamu was still none the wiser in knowing what Tamaki Suoh had actually called to ask about. As far as he was aware, he didn't need any legal services at this moment in time. Was he digging for information?

He observed Haruhi and Hikaru through his glass wall. He always chose to put his interns or new employees right in front of his office. He found the placement encouraged them to work harder and they were easier to intimidate. Haruhi, however, was quite unaffected by his tactics. He liked that in a woman... uh... lawyer. He shook his head. Nonetheless, he scowled as he watched Hikaru's arm slide along Haruhi's back as she made her way past him to the printer.

A few moments later, Haruhi plonked a bulging file on Isamu's desk. Three hours before the deadline, he was pleased with her work. He smiled at her.

"Seems that boy of yours isn't as much of a distraction as I'd worried," he said as he gathered up the papers.

Haruhi shrugged, "I'm just used to working with them, we've been best friends since school."

Isamu was a little stunned at this. He knew Haruhi had been given a scholarship into Ouran Academy's university programme, where he assumed she'd met the Hitachiins, but hadn't realised she'd gone to school with them as well. Hikaru stepped into the office and slung his arm around Haruhi's waist, resting a hand on her hip. She didn't recoil at his touch, indicating such close proximity was a regular thing for them.

"You're free to go home, if you'd like. You've finished this in such good time I'm sure you'll have a few moments spare to do that filing tomorrow," he said, smiling at her.

Hikaru grinned from ear to ear and practically bounced as he squeezed Haruhi with excitement. Isamu chuckled as Haruhi stayed her friend's glee with a simple hand on his chest.

Hikaru quickly swiped Haruhi's bag and coat from her desk as Haruhi pocketed her phone and turned off the computer. She gave a small wave to her colleagues as Hikaru took her hand and towed her to the elevator. She blushed and desperately hoped no one was watching as he sunk his lips around hers as soon as they stepped inside.

"My place or yours?" Hikaru asked between kisses, already knowing the answer.

"Mine," she breathed, untangling herself from his arms to step out of the building with some dignity.

He snickered as he unlocked the car and they both climbed into his little red Porsche. Hikaru was giddy for the entire ten minute drive to her apartment block, continuously stroking her inner thigh or squeezing her knee.

"At least let me shower first," Haruhi protested as Hikaru pressed her against the wall, lifting her shirt as soon as they'd closed the door to her home.

"But then you'll only have to shower again," Hikaru moaned, running seductive kisses down her neck as he fingered the buttons on her blouse.

"You'll just have to join me then, won't you," she teased, taking his hand and tugging him into the bathroom.

o0o0oo0o0o0oo0o0o0o0o0o0

She turned on the water as they entered the large cubicle, already rid of their clothes. Hikaru ran his hands down from Haruhi's breasts to her core tantalisingly slow as she leaned her back against him, feeling him grow. He moved one hand back to her nipples, alternating between her left and right while his fingers set to work triggering her magical button, lubricating her perfectly. He twisted her around and scooped her easily into his arms, making her giggle as her legs wrapped naturally around his waist. She buried he head in his neck as he pressed her against the wall and slipped himself inside, beginning slow, deep thrusts.

Her fingers clawed at his back as she came closer to her peak. His breathlessness told her Hikaru was nearing his climax too. She gripped him tighter and found his mouth with hers, tipping them both over the edge.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

He held her still resting against the wall, panting for a few moments before letting her slide down to rest on her own feet. She took the body wash the twins kept at her place and lathered him up, and he repeated the action for her. She rested against him as he massaged the shampoo into her hair. He was hard again from the feeling of her body against him, but they both ignored it.

"You could have just called. You didn't have to hang around my work all afternoon," she teased him as he wrapped a towel around her.

He shrugged. "I know, but I missed you this weekend. I wanted some time with you before I had to share you with Kaoru again."

He found a towel for himself to wrap around his waist and they made their way across the hall to her bedroom, both changing into comfortable clothing.

"Hope you two enjoyed yourselves," Kaoru smirked from the sofa where he sat reading in Haruhi's lounge.

The pair blushed as they entered the room. Haruhi skipped over to Kaoru's waiting arms and snuggled into them. Hikaru sat on her other side and lifted her feet into his lap.

As she lay across her boys, she considered how she'd gotten into this situation. She had dated Hikaru in their last year of high school, but they spent so much time as a trio it made the relationship difficult. They slowly slipped back down to a platonic status, with no definite end to the relationship, but no hard feelings either. It had been Kaoru's turn the following year, but the same occurred. She loved them both equally, and knew it would be impossible to fall _in_ love with just one of them. It was her third year of college one drunken night when she fell in love with both of them at once.

Although the twins hadn't repeated the drunken threesome, they'd both kept up physical relationships with her. There was always jealousy, and there always would be. But they were twins, they shared everything. Although their close friendship was obvious to anyone who even accidentally caught a glance, there was never a mention of what went on behind closed doors.

Hikaru flicked on the television and scrolled through the channels before finding a movie. He looked over at his brother, who was gently stroking her hair as he continued to read, and grinned. It had been a rough few years, getting to this point of being so comfortable with sharing her, but now they wouldn't change it for the world.

Of course they had worries, though. Some things were just outside of their control. One day Haruhi would come across a man who could have her all to himself. And of course they'd allow that, they wanted her to be happy and that was what she deserved. Kaoru looked at his brother and saw his own expression mirrored on his twin's face. He put down his book and squeezed a dozy Haruhi.

Hikaru must have done her well. She was exhausted. Hikaru grinned at his brother, reading his face.

"Kao?" Haruhi squeaked from within his embrace.

"Yes?" he mused, momentarily resting his hand from stroking her.

"Is there food?"

He paused, looking down at her, "That depends when you last got groceries."

She grunted and shifted off the sofa, padding to the kitchen in her bare feet. They heard her clanking around and soon a tray of potato chips and fresh salsa was brought their way. She set it on the coffee table and sat down between them, a handful of crisps in tow.

"You're such a little pig, Haru," Hikaru teased, taking his own portion of food.

"We must exercise you well to burn off all this crap you eat."

Haruhi flushed a toasty pink at the brothers' comments and sank in her seat, taking smaller bites so as to appear a little more ladylike. Kaoru, who had declined the food, snuck his arm around Haruhi's shoulders and tucked her head under his chin. His twin pouted slightly over the fact that not only had Kaoru had Haru to himself all weekend, but he was getting this evening's cuddle as well. Kaoru's arm was just long enough that he could reach past Haruhi and tenderly stroke his brother's cheek with his silky index finger, appeasing the other boy that he wasn't being left out.

Hikaru took Haruhi's legs again and began rubbing her feet as she dozed in Kaoru's arms. He heard her moan lightly as the tension left her.

"I think someone needs an early night," Kaoru whispered softly into Haruhi's ear.

Hikaru silently agreed and allowed his brother to scoop the girl off the sofa and carry her into the bedroom. Haruhi silently undressed herself into nothing more than a t-shirt and pouted at Kaoru as he pulled the blankets up to her chin.

"Aren't you staying?" she whimpered.

Kaoru could simply shrug in reply, unsure of his brother's plans for the night. He bent down to give her a light kiss on the lips good night.

Going back into the living room, he slid into Hikaru's lap and sighed into his chest.

"I missed you this weekend too, you know," he whined, putting his arms around his neck.

Hikaru snuggled his brother and soon they lay spooning on the couch, mindlessly watching television.

"Boys?"

It was just shy of midnight when they heard the faint call from the bedroom. Grinning at each other, the twins quickly scampered into Haruhi's room and stripped down to their boxers. Hikaru climbed in on her left and Kaoru on the right, spooning into his friend.

"What's the matter?" Hikaru whispered, kissing her forehead.

"I was just seeing if you were still here," she replied lazily, throwing one of her legs over Hikaru to scoot him closer.

Hikaru smiled. He loved it when they all slept together, which wasn't nearly as often as he'd like. The twins had bunk beds in Haruhi's box room, where she also did most of her work from home. They had their own rooms in their penthouse apartment, though of course with oversized beds to fit all three of them in either room. They'd wanted one for Haruhi's room too, but it wouldn't fit. Although, cuddling was definitely a lot closer in the smaller bed. He slung his arm over both Haruhi and Kaoru, and felt one of Kaoru's hands take his somewhere in the bed. The other brother opened his eyes just briefly to smile at Hikaru, sharing a thought.

Nights like these made sharing all worth it.


	2. Chapter 2

Kaoru was the first to wake in the morning. Unlike his brother, he was a light sleeper and often had trouble sleeping when one of their trio was missing from the bed. He slept brilliantly for the first time in over a week and was happy to rise and shine just after six. Untangling himself from the mass of arms and legs, he noticed Haruhi stir and open her eyes. He stroked her hair soothingly and let her fall deeper into Hikaru's arms, resting her head on his chest.

After using the bathroom and taking a quick shower, he settled on the sofa to finish his book. He quickly checked all three of their phones to make sure no one had missed an important message. It was an unspoken rule between the friends. Haruhi had several messages from her boss, but this was nothing new. Isamu often texted Haruhi in the middle of the night to remind her of tasks in the morning. One of the texts was interesting though.

_Meal with Suoh client Weds. Bring a date._

Kaoru recognised the Suoh name, but wasn't really bothered where from. He grinned at the text that followed.

_Well behaved Hitachiin preferable._

Of course, that meant Kaoru. Hikaru got bored too easily at formal dinners. He had been raised to know the polite small talk, but Kaoru was the natural. He had the professional side of business down to a tee, whilst Hikaru's input was more lively and spontaneous. They were a perfect team.

He heard the water running and looked up expectantly to see which of his companions the next to awaken was. He wasn't surprised to see Haruhi, she could never get back to sleep in the morning. She ran her hand through his still wet hair as she headed for the kitchen and came back with a yoghurt for each of them.

After eating, Haruhi took her phone and gave Kaoru a look from the corner of her eye, noticing her messages from Isamu had already been marked as "read". Her face cracked into a silly smile as she read the text regarding the meal with Suoh. Kaoru had been right, she was definitely taking him over Hikaru.

"You left me," the butt of their joke moaned, flopping down between them on the sofa.

He yawned and blinked his eyes open, tucking down into Kaoru's offered arm.

"I'll get us some coffee," Haruhi sighed.

From the kitchen, she looked over the breakfast bar and smiled at how cute the twins were together. Hikaru, usually the more defensive and dominant of the two, was almost entirely in his brother's lap, being soothingly petted on the back of his neck.

She brought each of them a steaming mug of their preferred brand, before returning to collect her own.

"What time do you start today, Haru?" Hikaru queried, now more awake.

"I was gonna set off at half seven for the tube."

"Traffic's not too bad at that time. If you're ok with being at work so early we can drive you? We need to run over the latest collection with mom this morning, anyway." Kaoru suggested.

She nodded and headed to the shower, followed by Hikaru. He shot Kaoru a look when the twin giggled.

"Really, Hika? Again?" Haruhi teased as Hikaru stepped into the shower with her.

"Hey!" he complained, poking her. "I'm just saving us some time and saving your water bill."

The shower was just that, a shower, and Haruhi was very thankful for it. Although Hikaru did take great pleasure in washing her and combing conditioner through her hair with his fingers. She didn't let him get too intimate though, well aware she couldn't go into work with a hot flush.

Kaoru had already dressed and laid clothes on the bed for both Hikaru and Haruhi. He liked it when they coordinated and complimented each other. He'd gone with a teal theme, which he knew would please Haruhi even if she wasn't too thrilled with having such a brightly coloured skirt. He'd paired it with a black and white polka dot blouse. Kaoru's own trousers were grey, with a cream shirt with a teal paisley design. Hikaru's shirt was teal paired with tan trousers and a grey waistcoat.

They both dressed without complaint and Kaoru put Haruhi's shoulder length hair into a neat braided bun on the back of her head.

"Aren't you one sexy little lawyer this morning?" Hikaru grinned, swooping his arm around her back and pressing her close.

"Hey, don't crumple her!" Kaoru retorted, separating the pair, "Though you do look extra gorgeous..."

He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek, making her blush. She always blushed when the boys took a little leap over the line between a flirtatious friendship and being romantic.

She sat in the back passenger seat of Kaoru's Merc. The boys were talking about the latest installations to their mother's fashion line, which they had co-designed. They had a catwalk date set for this time next month. Haruhi had had the entire weekend booked off work for weeks now. The twins would be mortified if she didn't go with them, especially as this was their first big break, taking a good share of the credit.

As the car pulled up outside Haruhi's workplace one of her colleagues, Denbe Masuo, was also just arriving. He recognised her in the rear of the car and waited for her. Haruhi leaned forwards to kiss each of the boys on the cheek.

"Love you," she called, stepping out of the car.

"Love you!" they replied in unison, before pulling back into the light traffic and heading off.

"Good morning, Fujioka. May I compliment your appearance this morning?" Denbe greeted, bowing his head slightly.

She returned the bow and smiled, "Thank you. The guys, uh... helped."

"The Hitachiin brothers, right? One of them was here yesterday afternoon."

They made their way into the building, finding the lifts on auto-pilot.

"Yeah, Hikaru... he was just here to wind me up."

"It's nice of them to drive you here."

"Well, they didn't give me much of a choice," she smiled, hitting the button for their floor.

"But still, they must have been up pretty early to get to your place."

"Hmm? Nah, they stayed over last night," she made the comment absentmindedly, oblivious to his widening eyes.

They parted and headed for their individual work stations. Denbe immediately headed for his closest friend in the firm, Kyoden Aida.

"Do you know if Fujioka is dating anyone?" he mused quietly.

Kyoden smirked, "Well, we were chatting last week and she said she was single, but yesterday I'm sure I saw her pretty close with the Hitachiin boy in the elevator. It could have been nothing, though."

"She just told me they _both_ stayed over at her apartment last night."

"Don't jump to conclusions, Muse, Haruhi really doesn't seem the type."

He watched as Denbe shuffled items on his desk in an agitated fashion.

"Besides, aren't you a little old for her?" he teased.

Denbe blushed and dismissed his younger associate with a wave of his hand.

A little later, Haruhi wandered over to Kyoden's desk with the last of the files she was organising. They all regarded clients she knew he was handling.

"Do you want me to sort these or would you rather run through them yourself?" she asked.

"Uhh," he took in the large stack and mentally shuddered, "I wouldn't want to put you out but..."

"I can lend a hand, if you'd prefer."

He smiled, "Sure, that'd get it over with in half the time."

She set the files down on his desk and pulled up a spare chair. They made idle chatter as they sifted through the papers.

"Have you been invited to the dinner with the young Suoh?" Kyoden asked.

Haruhi nodded, but looked up slightly, "_Young _Suoh?"

"Master Tamaki, the only son. His father is pushing him to take more responsibility in the family business now the Matriarch's health is waning."

"That seems a little rough, getting him into it as he loses his Grandmother..."

"Apparently they aren't close. You went to the same school as him, right? Ouran Academy? But I think he's a little older than you."

"The name rings a bell, but I didn't have many friends in school. Just the twins, really. I'll ask, though I'm sure Kao would have mentioned it."

"Kao?"

"Kaoru Hitachiin. He's my... uh... _date_," she flinched at the word, "for the meal."

"It's a shame you've already asked someone..." he trailed off.

Haruhi was oblivious to his underhanded hint.

"The boss said "well behaved Hitachiin preferable" when he told me to bring a date. Hikaru gets bored too easily. Kao has a more professional side, when he wants to."

"You must know them very well," Kyoden smiled.

"Even their mum says I'm the only one who can tell them apart," she giggled, finishing up the last of her pile.

"Thanks for the help, Fujioka. I'll have to repay you sometime."

"Don't mention it," she shrugged, heading away.

Haruhi sat at her desk and ran through her list of tasks. Nothing was particularly challenging or even all that meaningful. Just the bum jobs no one else could be bothered with. She glanced through her personal texts as she took a sip of water, the only one being from Kaoru.

_Meeting running over. Won't be able to pick you up :/. Come to ours after work. Buying you dinner. News! __  
><em>

She smiled; unaware they had even intended to pick her up in the first place. She knew they would always try to but she disliked it when they went out of their way.

She glanced into Isamu's office and saw him with a crumpled face, the phone held lazily near his ear. Mei caught her eye and smiled. Turning back to her work, Haruhi quickly completed the mindless tasks and began reading through some of the larger case files so she could build up her knowledge of the firm. She started with the Suohs.

The family empire was vast and ever expanding. Yuzuru Suoh considered him "Chairman" of a very considerable percentage of Japan's businesses, although it was largely through financial backing and taking a comfortable slice of the profits. He was most actively involved in the running of Ouran Academy. Haruhi smiled, so this man had provided her scholarship. As she continued reading, she learned that legal services were mostly used to act as middle-men between dealings. Similar to what the Hitachiins required. Boring stuff, really.

Hearing a _thunk_ from Isamu's office Haruhi looked over to see him rolling his head in his hands. She glanced at Mei, who quickly messaged her.

_Tamaki Suoh is a bit of a chatter box._

Haruhi smiled. At least he seemed friendly, even if the boss didn't have the patience for him. It made her less nervous about the meal the next day. She'd only been on a few and she could be quite shy in larger groups.

Denbe approached with a casebook and leaned on her desk in the same place Hikaru had the day before. They discussed the client, a middle aged woman prosecuting for burglary.

"How's about you take the lead on this and I'll supervise?" he suggested, smiling.

"Not today, Masuo," Isamu interrupted.

"Sir?" the two employees said together.

"I've lost quite a bit of time so far this week due to phone calls," he scowled at the ground, "I require some assistance keeping up with my workload. Since it's the Hitachiin's latest release taking up most of my time at the moment I figure as their _toy_ you would be the perfect candidate to lend a hand."

Denbe flinched. He'd worked with Isamu for almost a decade and the man rarely became so irritated. However, he couldn't help be intrigued at the boss's phrasing.

"Toy?" he asked, looking between Haruhi and Isamu.

Haruhi blushed whilst Isamu smirked. She was practically confirming his suspicions just with that face.

"And I assume you'll be able to keep better track of those boys than their parents can..."

"Especially with them staying at your house..." Denbe added his two cents.

They both shot him a look. Isamu turned to raise his eyebrow at Haruhi.

"They have their own room..." she muttered, but it seemed to satisfy both men.

"Settled, then. Check your emails. I hope you're good with numbers..."

Isamu strolled off, with Denbe scurrying back to his own desk in his wake. Haruhi followed her instructions and opened her emails, only to be bombarded with the largest attachment she'd ever seen.

She knew damn well that the Hitachiins employed a team of accountants to do this, and not only that but the firm had one too. What was the purpose in this? Reading the emails it was nothing more than dividing the spending between business and personal, from the twin's credit cards no less. Didn't she know what a mine field that could be. Oh yes, those boys were definitely buying her dinner. Every night until she was done with this. No wonder the task had been assigned to Haruhi. Not only was it completely boring and as far as she could see pointless, but as their best friend it would be much easier for her to get them to cooperate.

On his return from his apparent visit to the water dispenser, Isamu smiled at Haruhi's overwhelmed expression.

"I'll leave interview room 3 open for your use any time for this, so you can have them come in. It's an ongoing task with quite the backlog. But you'll be pleased to hear I'll lessen the amount of general admin you have to do usually," his smile became much more friendly, "And we'll see if we can't get on some grittier cases to build your experience... Kyoden! Here, please."

"Yes, sir?" Kyoden asked, hovering oddly behind Haruhi's chair.

"Allow Fujioka to shadow you and have some input in your cases. I'm sure you'll find her a great help. In return, you can use the free time she opens up for you to help her with the Hitachiin twins' financial profile."

Haruhi spent the last couple of hours being brought up to speed on Kyoden's latest cases. Tomorrow lunch time they had an interview with one client, and on Thursday a preliminary court hearing for another.

"Allow me to drive you home, Haruhi. As repayment for helping me this morning," Kyoden offered.

"Thanks, but I'm actually going to the Hitachiins'. It might be a bit out of your way..."

"It's no trouble. I insist."

He stood and gathered his things, prompting Haruhi to do the same. She texted Kaoru to let him know she was leaving work. Kyoden's car was a dark blue Toyota hybrid. She'd never pinned him as the type to be into the green scene. Though the guilt of using up his petrol was lessened slightly.

"You'll have t direct me. What should I aim for?"

"The Prism," Haruhi said simply.

The Prism was a large triangular shaped building between the edge of the city and the upperclass suburbs. It was used for both fancy offices and top notch apartments. The boys being the crème de la crème that they were would only settle for the best, so had purchased the unique penthouse apartment on their graduation from college two years ago. It was a wonderful place to live. Each of the three large bedrooms had an entire wall made of gigantic glass windows looking over the distant country side and the large open plan lounge/dining-kitchen had a double aspect of the city. It was anything but boring, with a complete lack of square rooms due to the three sided structure of the building, and the twins had complimented that inside by using jagged edged furniture and curvy decorations. Though Haruhi thought it was way over the top, it suited the boys perfectly.

"So they have an apartment here?" Kyoden said as he approached the winding residential driveway to the Prism.

Haruhi nodded.

"Bet that's pretty impressive."

She smiled, "Would you expect anything less for those boys?"

"I don't know, I don't know much about them except for what I've read in articles, and you know how the media can be."

Haruhi giggled, "Probably a good thing the paps can't tell them apart..."

Haruhi thanked him and headed towards the private residential elevator, using her security key to open it. She had to use another key to access the button for the penthouse. The doors locked automatically behind her – probably a good thing since the boys could be quite lazy with security.

"Why do you boys insist on nudity?" she groaned as she rounded the corner from the lift to the lounge.

Both boys sat cross-legged on the couch, completely in the buff playing a video game. The scattered mountains of clothes indicated they'd been up to one of their games again. She gathered up their boxers and tossed them each a pair, sitting down as they covered themselves.

"You could just join us, Haruhi," Hikaru said, reaching out to tug her into his lap by the waist.

She deftly avoided his grip with a practiced manoeuvre and headed for their kitchen, knowing she would have to unload and reload their dishwasher, before throwing in a load of laundry from each of their hampers.

The boys continued their game, allowing Haruhi to potter around doing their housework. They'd long ago given up on telling her not to. She took her usual seat in the centre of the corner-style couch, with the boys on either length.

"Do you boys have any of my clothes?" she asked mostly to Kaoru, who had just died in-game and come to rest his head in her lap.

"Not comfy?" he asked in reply.

She shook her head and he sat himself upright. Hikaru had sidled closer.

"This is why you should just strip with us," he teased, undoing the top button on her blouse.

Kaoru nodded in agreement and slipped down the zip on the side of her skirt.

"Behave, boys," she retorted, gripping her skirt to her hip and heading towards her bedroom.

Kaoru picked up his laptop and scrolled through the online takeaways, settling with pizza. Meanwhile Hikaru had followed after Haruhi. He walked into her room just as she reached behind to unsnap her bra.

"Hika... no," she mumbled as his fingers beat hers to the clasp.

"Relax, I'm just lending a hand."

She slid the bra from her shoulders whilst Hikaru pulled out a cute cotton nightshirt from one of the drawers. Dropping her skirt and stepping out of it, she held up her arms as he slid it over her head.

"Who'd have known you could go from so hot to so cute just with the change of a shirt?" he breathed into her neck, hugging her with one arm as the other found her hand.

He towed her back into the lounge where Kaoru had put his headphones on, plugged into the laptop. He looked up at the pair, mildly shocked.

"That was fast... are you losing your touch, brother?" Kaoru gripped Haruhi's bare thigh as she sat next to him.

Haruhi flushed and nuzzled into Hikaru's chest as he sat on her other side. They both dismissed his half-serious question.

"You said you had news?" Haruhi perked up, sliding her legs into Kaoru's lap.

Both boys grinned.

"What if we told you we had a job?" they said together.

"...I'd say you'd had too much to drink." Haruhi replied.

"You know what we've wanted for a while..." Hikaru started.

"And how we've been working our asses off for weeks..." Kaoru continued.

With each line they leaned in closer, she could feel their excitement building.

"And we have that catwalk date set for next month..."

"And we told you we'd co-designed it with our mother..."

"Well we kinda lied, to tell you the truth..."

"But it's even better!" they said together.

The words ticked through her head as the boys caught their breath in their excitement. Of course, she knew their primary goal was to start their own brand, and work together. Kaoru had spent a lot of time working with his father lately, learning computing and business skills. She added up the last few weeks. As the answer clicked in, a huge grin spread across her face.

"Boys! Why didn't you tell me sooner?!" she squealed, looping a arm round each of their necks and squeezing them both in a tight hug.

"We wanted to get everything finalised first. It's probably not what you expect."

"What do you mean?" she ran her fingers through Kaoru's hair whilst Hikaru was kissing her neck

"You know how you say our clothes are unrealistic?"

"Over priced and over hyped?" she teased, earning a nibble from Hikaru who had worked his way down to her collarbone.

"Well we wanted to do something different."

"Something that you'd like," Hikaru whispered surfacing from his kisses.

"I like all your stuff."

"But something that you'd _buy_," Hikaru squeezed her.

"A well priced range for the young professional, catering for their work wear, their casual wear and their evening wear," Kaoru ran off the spiel.

"Ru," Hikaru finished.

Kaoru produced a catalogue, obviously just a prototype, but Haruhi could tell just by the wording used that it was mostly Kaoru's work. As she flicked through, she nodded in approval. Everything was something she would want to wear. Nothing too flashy, nothing that drew too much attention, but it was all smooth and chic.

"This is amazing, boys," she said wistfully as they each rested a head on her shoulders.

"Do you like the name?" Kaoru probed.

"It's perfect. The ending of both of your names."

"And the centre of yours," Koaru whispered.

"Since you're the centre of our world," Hikaru dropped his voice.

"And you're always in the middle."

She snuggled into both of them, being sandwiched into their arms, pressed between their bodies. Kaoru pressed his forehead into Hikaru's. Their little moment was interrupted by the sound of the buzzer. Hikaru groaned as he unwound himself and found a shirt from the floor to cover himself as he made his way to the elevator to ride down and collect their dinner.

"It's a secret," Kaoru whispered, pushing her into the sofa and kissing her lips.

It was such a heated, fleeting kiss and Haruhi easily read the double meaning. The new brand was still a secret to the rest of the world, but so was the twin's relationship with Haruhi. The rest of the world would be watching the twins in just a few short weeks. They had to be on their best behaviour.

A text from Isamu reminded her of her own employment news.

"You two better keep this up," she told them as she took a slice of pizza.

"Why?" Kaoru asked.

"You never let us spoil you," said Hikaru.

Haruhi sighed, "My boss has got Aida and I establishing your financial profiles."

The boys shared a look and smirked.

"Well don't judge us too harshly with how much we spend in women's clothes shops," Hikaru said, grinning.

"You must have quite the string of lovers. I know you'd never _dare_ to buy me any fancy clothes."

She shot them both a look.

"So when either of you get a few hours spare when I'm at work, you'll have to come in and run through the statements with us."

"Are you openly inviting us into your office, Haruhi?" Hikaru smirked, leaning in.

"I thought we'd still be sneaking in at night years from now," Kaoru joined the teasing.

"It's not even just at night anymore," Haruhi scowled.

"Yeah I hear about that," Kaoru said, poking his brother in the ribs, "Don't go making a scene now."

"Me? Make a scene?" Hikaru feigned insult.

"You're the living embodiment of a scene, baka," Haruhi teased, pushing him onto his back.

They talked and teased and settled in for a comfortable evening together with a movie. Hikaru still lay on his back with Haruhi lying on top of him, head on his chest. Kaoru, being as slim as the boys were, lay on his side pressed between his brother and the back of the sofa, holding Haruhi around the back with one arm while his other was around Hikaru's neck.

The trailers on the movie channel began to blare, snapping them all out of their sense of calm.

"Bed," Haruhi demanded, rolling away from the boys.

As she scurried to the bathroom, Kaoru snuggled into his brother. With their faces pressed together, they silently communicated thoughts of comfort and support for the coming weeks.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**AN:** And there you have it. I'm part way through chapter 3 now. I'm aiming for around 3000 words per chapter so don't expect me to update too quickly. Although I have a tonne of ideas I can't wait to put into words. We meet Tamaki in the next chapter!

Lots of love, Amelie.


	3. Chapter 3

Haruhi awoke to the sound of the early alarm sitting on the bedside table. She reached across whichever twin had ended up on her left to silence the ringing. Rubbing her eyes, she got a closer look at the man she was leaning over and recognised Kaoru's soft expression slowly stirring. Truly deep sleep was the only time she struggled to tell them apart but even then they had subtle differences. Hikaru slept with his mouth open and on his front or back, spread out, whilst Kaoru always looked more serene, lightly tucked up on his side with a gentle curve of his knees.

Kaoru opened his eyes and smiled as Haruhi placed a kiss on his cheek. He reached up to run his fingers down wherever he could reach, which happened to be her shoulder and arm. Propping himself up on one elbow, he reached over Haruhi to gently rock his brother awake. The other boy only managed to open one eye before groaning and pulling Haruhi – whose waist he still had hold of from falling asleep together – closer into his chest.

"Come on, you lazy bum," Kaoru chuckled, sliding over Haruhi and straddling his twin's hips with his knees.

He pulled the older boy up by his underarms into a sitting position, forcing him to let go of their female friend who made her way to the bathroom. Wrapping his legs around Hikaru's back, Kaoru leaned into his brother's neck and left light kisses as Hikaru wiped a hand over his face.

"Good morning to you too," Hikaru said, giving the boy in his lap a chaste peck on the lips, causing him to squirm.

Hearing Haruhi in the shower, they took the extra time to enjoy each others' arms for a few moments. Hikaru, finally awake, snaked his arms around Kaoru's back and left a trail of kisses on his neck before cleaning them off with a swift lick of his tongue. Kaoru reeled in his arms, and soon found himself being pressed into the bed as Hikaru pinned him down.

Dancing his fingers up Kaoru's sides, Hikaru continued to kiss and nibble his brother's neck and collar bones. His fingers grew more adventurous and soon began a light tickling motion that Kaoru found almost pleasurable. Hikaru knew he was hitting the right spots from the pressure he felt against his thigh and indicated to Kaoru what was occurring.

Kaoru blushed and tried to free himself but Hikaru kept his chest pinned by his own.

"No need to be ashamed you enjoy my touches, little one," Hikaru breathed, running his tongue over Kaoru's lips.

Kaoru moaned beneath him and opened his mouth, allowing Hikaru to initiate a passion kiss as his hands finally stopped wandering and wrapped around Kaoru.

They heard the shower stop and quickly parted their lips, instead pressing into each other's necks for more snuggles as Haruhi came back into the room.

"Stop being gay, you two," she teased, "one of you needs to drop me off, the tube from here is horrendous at this time."

Hikaru flipped himself off his brother with a mischievous grin and went to use the bathroom before taking a quick rinse in the shower to calm his groin. Kaoru took similar actions in his own ensuite. He made sure to muffle his moans as he released his arousal which, not surprisingly from the treatment Hikaru had given him, didn't take very long.

"Empty," Kaoru told Hikaru who was eyeing his crotch as they all met up in the living room.

Haruhi gave the bottle of milk she was holding a light shake, not quite grasping what Kaoru was talking about. She ignored him and added the milk to their coffees all the same. All three of them wore nothing but towels and Haruhi smiled at how casual the situation was. After finishing their microwaved pancakes, she allowed the boys to dress her in a red shift dress and black tights.

Kaoru alone drove her to work in his black Aston that day and promised to pick her up bang on four so they could get ready for that evening's meal with her colleagues and client. Once again he met Denbe, who wolf whistled at the car as it pulled away.

"That's a beautiful machine," he said wistfully as it faded into the distance.

Haruhi shrugged and they turned to walk into the building together.

"You know cars?" Denbe asked casually.

"Eh... I can recognise a few but they're not a big deal to me."

"They had a gorgeous Mercedes yesterday... I guess they have a few. Don't tell me they stayed at your place again?"

Haruhi shook her head and said with an honest blush, "I stayed at theirs..."

"Little odd... don't you think?"

She shrugged, "It's just the way it is. They're my best friends."

"That all?"

She nodded and span into her chair

"Good," he smiled as he headed to his own desk.

Her work was rather uneventful until Kyoden met her at 11:30 to get her prepared for the lunch with his client.

"He's a business man buying property. Nothing too fancy, and the food goes on his bill so don't worry about anything," he told her calmly as he used the small mirror hanging above her desk to adjust his tie. "Oh look, we match."

He gestured to the red lining of his jacket and compared it to her dress. His friendly demeanour had Denbe growling to himself in the far corner, but he went unnoticed. Kyoden and Haruhi headed to the parking lot, finding his blue car easily.

Sitting in the chic boutique-style bistro, Haruhi mused over the menu.

"I think I'll go with the prawn salad," she said as the waitress asked for her choice.

"A good choice," Kyoden smiled.

"A light choice," she mumbled, smirking.

They continued to make polite chatter with the client. Overall, Haruhi was rather disappointed with the experience. It seemed such a casual meeting, not what she expected at all. She'd prepared herself to sit on a cloud of manners, but Kyoden just joked around.

"Did you enjoy that?" Kyoden said in the car.

"Yeah, it was lovely," Haruhi smiled.

"Wish I'd gone for a salad now... I think the waffles were a bit a heavy choice considering the Suoh meal tonight. The client seemed impressed with you, though."

Haruhi flushed, smiling, "Thankyou."

"Those boys of yours coming by to do any work today?"

She shook her head, "No. At least I hope not... Kao said he was picking me up at four."

"So I don't get to drive you home again?"

She missed the wink he gave her as they pulled up at the office.

"Speaking of home, I hear you didn't make it back last night."

"Musuo's such a gossip," she groaned.

"Gonna tell me you have your own room there, as well?"

"I do, actually."

"Curious..." he muttered and the conversation was dropped as they returned to their desks.

Haruhi jumped as two hands placed themselves on her shoulders. She was lost in thought with her work and whipped around to see an evil grin smothering Kaoru's face.

"Ass," she grumbled as she took a breath.

"That's no way to greet your favourite person!" he wrapped his arms around her and she couldn't help but hug back.

"Who says you're my favourite?" she teased as he released her. "Besides, you're early."

"But don't you just _love_ surprises?" his voice was laced with sarcasm as he sat on her desk.

People were doing that a lot this week.

Denbe and Kyoden gathered across the room, trying to decide between themselves if this was Hikaru or Kaoru Hitachiin. Kyoden knew Kaoru intended to pick Haruhi up that day, but surely they couldn't be _this _identical. If it was Kaoru, then Haruhi was certainly very cuddly with both of them. Kaoru glanced into Isamu's office to find it empty; somewhat disappointed his first meeting with the head solicitor would be in such a formal situation this evening. Instead he nodded politely at the three men and one woman who remained in the office. For such a small company, they were doing remarkably well.

"Should we introduce ourselves?" Kyoden whispered after returning a smile to Kaoru.

Denbe shook his head, "Just watch let's see how close they really are..."

"Haru, how does your hair get so messy? All you do is sit at a desk all day," Kaoru grumbled as he unwound the clip from Haruhi's hair.

She glanced up at the mirror, "Looks fine to me."

Haruhi span her chair away to get her out of Kaoru's reach, but he only followed her, forcing her head still as she finished up some notes. He combed lightly through her hair with his fingers to untangle the slightly windswept locks before pulling a comb out of her bag to neaten it. He petted and stroked the silky hair probably longer than he needed to, but it felt so wonderful in his hands and he knew she enjoyed the feeling. As she shut down the PC, he twisted it back into the clip.

"He's a stylist, what more do you expect?" Kyoden hissed as Denbe scowled at the interaction. "Besides, you're being awfully nosy."

"I just think it's weird... such a big name and they're both like... close with her."

"So? They're friends from school."

"They stay at each others' houses!"

"They have their own rooms at each others' houses... guess that is kinda weird."

"Wonder how often they actually use those rooms..."

"What are you implying, Muse?"

"Just look at the way he's touching her!"

Kaoru delicately brushed his fingers down Haruhi's face as she waited by the printer.

"You're so pretty," he said, smiling at her with a sparkle in his eyes.

She blushed lightly at his affection and he cupped her cheek with his hand and leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. Although Hikaru was much more physically affectionate towards her, Kaoru's words could always make her tingle just as much as Hikaru's romantic touches.

"What did you say about not making a scene?"

Kaoru grinned but put a slight distance between them, glancing over his shoulder to find two of the men Haruhi worked with pretending not to look at them. One looked confused, the older looked... jealous.

Kaoru smirked and put his arm around Haruhi as she finished organising her desk and prepared to leave. She ignored the action, but Kyoden and Denbe certainly didn't. Denbe also didn't miss the protective glare that flashed across the red head's face as he turned around, but it settled instantly into the polite, reserved composure he usually held.

Haruhi allowed Kaoru's arm to stay at her shoulders as they left her workplace, waving at her colleagues.

"Hey, can I have a hug?" Koaru asked and Haruhi was thrown off by how young he sounded.

"You never usually ask... what's the matter?" she paused as he opened the boot of the car for her bag.

"Eh, just a funky feeling," Kaoru said flatly as he wove his arms loosely around Haruhi's waist.

She put her arms around his neck and felt him tighten his hold as his face sank into the crook of her neck.

"All better?" she asked, resting her cheek on his shoulder.

"Much, thanks."

Kaoru bounced back to his usual cheery state and they set off back to the Prism. Haruhi didn't question him, assuming there was already an outfit sorted for her. Probably designed and custom made by the boys themselves. Over the years she'd gotten used to their endless gifts, even if she still felt the boys went overboard.

As she kicked off her shoes and began to clean up the dishes the boys had obviously used for lunch, she felt Kaoru's hands snake around her waist, delicately tracing her hip bones. She turned in his arms and hooked her own around his neck, assuming he was still feeling a little cuddly. However, it was not the case.

Kaoru slipped his hand up Haruhi's thigh, raising her dress. She didn't stop him as he locked his lips with hers, hoisting her onto the counter in the embrace.

"Come on," he breathed into the kiss, clutching her into his groin.

"But you'll have me all evening," Haruhi whined.

"I need you now," he purred, sending shivers down her spine.

She relented and let him half-carry her to his own room, already falling out of their clothes.

He pushed her into the bed in just her underwear and snatched at the bra, taking a nipple in his mouth. His hand got to work pushing down her panties and his fingers danced over her lower lips before quickly slipping one inside. She finished shedding her underwear and removed Kaoru's shorts. It wasn't long before he took the first thrust inside her, moaning with bliss.

She curled into him, panting as he lovingly caressed every inch of her back and arms. He pecked kisses over her head and made a move to get off the bed.

"Maybe you need a coffee?" he chuckled into her ear, leaving a kiss there.

"I just need a minute, you're not usually so..."

So what? So forceful? So passionate. Hikaru was the intense lover, Kaoru was the carer. She smiled as she traced her fingers across his smooth, subtly sculpted chest.

Kaoru understood her expression and simply smiled in response. He pulled a t-shirt over her head but left himself nude as they entered the kitchen, using the gadgety coffee maker Hikaru had bought them for Christmas rather than mixing up Haruhi's usual instant. They recovered together on the sofa before taking a shower together.

Kaoru gave her a choice between a silky black A-line dress with spaghetti straps and a pale blue mid-thigh dress that was tightly fitted with three quarter length lace sleeves. The colour was unique, with almost a shimmer to it. She chose the latter, disliking the way the black would highlight her pale complexion in the lighting of the restaurant. Kaoru was pleased, as the blue dress was his design with the black being Hikaru's. The outfit was paired with cream heals and clutch purse. Kaoru wore a silky blue waistcoat to compliment her, with a white shirt and black trousers. It was too early in the year for a suit jacket.

"Do we have to go?" Kaoru teased, tasting her lipgloss, "I just want to get you out of that dress now that you're in it."

"Yes," she sighed, removing his hands from her body.

"Well aren't you two a beautiful pair tonight," Hikaru bounded across the room to gently hug Haruhi, careful not to mess up her hair and make-up. He gave his twin a squeeze on the shoulder.

Haruhi completely agreed. Kaoru looked gorgeous. His perfectly slim and toned torso was absolutely graced by his tailored shirt and waistcoat.

Hikaru kissed each of them on the cheek at the door.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," he winked.

"Oh because that sets some boundaries!" Haruhi teased back, taking Kaoru's hand.

As they exited the Prism, a silver Bentley pulled up and Haruhi glowered at Kaoru.

"Just get in. We haven't had a date in ages and I'd really like a drink tonight."

She pouted but got into the chauffer driven car all the same, squeezing his hand for comfort.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, they were escorted to the reserved table where Isamu sat at the head of the table. A tall, slim, frankly gorgeous blonde male sat to his side who looked up and beamed at the approaching couple. Kyoden and his date sat further down the table, with Denbe next to him.

"Mr. Hitachiin!" Isamu's mouth opened but it certainly wasn't his voice.

The source was the tall blonde, who had shot out of his chair and enthusiastically grasped the hand of the bemused man on Haruhi's arm.

"Don't tell me, you're Hikaru, right?" he said.

"Actually I'm Kaoru, but it's nice you recognise me after all this time, Suoh." Kaoru accepted the vigorous handshake

"I never could tell you apart... you remember?" Suoh looked at the ground, cringing slightly.

"How could I forget?" he rolled his eyes animatedly and pulled out a seat for Haruhi, next to his own space he'd decided to claim across from Suoh; next to Isamu.

"And who is this fair maiden?" Suoh took Haruhi's hand and pressed a kiss to it.

"This is my intern, Fujioka Haruhi," Isamu introduced with great pride. "She's a school friend of the Hitachiins."

"Fujioka... I remember the name but..." Suoh started.

"Maybe this will jog your memory?" Kaoru said, flipping out his phone and scrolling to an old picture he'd saved.

Haruhi stood between the twins in their school uniforms, in the rose garden of the academy. Notably, they all wore boys' uniforms. Haruhi's hair was cropped short and she was completely lacking of a womanly shape. Frankly, she looked like a boy.

"Oh... uh... wow... I'm so sorry I didn't recognise you." Suoh said, blushing profusely. . eyes almost fell out of his face.

"No hard feelings. I don't think we ever even spoke. It's nice to meet you."

"It's still shameful of me to forget such a pretty face," he swooned, finally letting go of her hand.

"She passed off as a boy through most of highschool," Kaoru chuckled, squeezing her knee under the table.

He received some inquisitive looks from around the table, "It's a long story, and we all know she'll only blush," he kissed her cheek, making her blush anyway.

Whilst waiting for Mei and Hitomi, the other female in the company, Kaoru and Tamaki chatted. Isamu hardly got a word in between his two top clients, talking jovially just like old friends. When he finally got Tamaki's attention, Haruhi whispered to Kaoru.

"I thought you hardly knew him?" she asked.

"I don't... just play along," he returned the whisper into her hair, covering it with a kiss when Tamaki turned back to him.

"Aww, you're so cute together." Tamaki cooed.

"We're not together, actually," Kaoru confessed, a touch of sadness in his voice. "I see you've come alone, you were always such a lady's man."

No one saw the smile brighten on Denbe's face.

Mei sat down between Tamaki and Kyoden, whilst Hitomi and her boyfriend sat between Haruhi and Denbe.

"That's a beautiful dress, Haruhi," the woman to her right told her.

"Thankyou," Haruhi and Kaoru said together, before Kaoru jumped right back in to his chat with Tamaki.

"Now everyone's here, should we make some more formal introductions. You three obviously know each other already, but for the others this here," he gestured to Tamaki, "is Master Tamaki Suoh, and on my other side is Kaoru Hitachiin."

The group smiled and introduced themselves to the aristocrats. Tamaki paused at Kyoden.

"Your name is very similar to that of my best friend, Kyoya," he said smiling.

"Ootori..." Kaoru mumbled under his breath, but the fearful name was heard by both Isamu and Haruhi.

"Hey Haruhi, will you come to the bathroom with me?" Hitomi asked, blushing.

"Uh, sure." Haruhi agreed.

"What would you like to order, dear?" her boyfriend asked and she pointed at her preference on the menu.

The two women left the table and headed for the bathroom, just as a waitress arrived.

"Oh... Haruhi didn't say what she'd like..." Kyoden mumbled, but was heard.

"It's ok, she'll have the tuna," Kaoru said confidently, earning few questioning looks. "Trust me."

Haruhi leaned casually on the counter top in the bathroom, waiting for Hitomi.

"Have you see the way Master Suoh is looking at you?" she squealed.

"Uh... no?" Haruhi quizzed.

"He looks like he's died and gone to heaven every time he looks your way! But you do look lovely tonight. Kyoden and Denbe can't keep their eyes off you either."

Haruhi blushed outside the stalls, "Well, thankyou. Kaoru's certainly good with the make-up."

"Don't be silly, you're gorgeous anyway. You must have been the prettiest boy in highschool."

Haruhi laughed but didn't comment as Hitomi washed her hands.

They returned to the tables with smiles all around. The glint in Kaoru's eye told Haruhi he'd been telling some stories.

She glanced at Tamaki who was practically beaming. Kaoru took her hand held it somewhat pointedly on top of the table. Hitomi nudged Haruhi as Kyoden and Denbe shot the pair a glance, but Haruhi wasn't one to catch on fast.

"You keep looking at me like I've done something wrong," Kaoru whispered to Haruhi.

"What were you telling them while I was away?" she hissed back.

"Just some tales about how far you'll go to get some fancy tuna," he giggled and kissed her forehead, resting his head against her just for a moment.

He shot an I-dare-you look at Denbe and Kyoden, who both squirmed in their seats. Kyoden's date was getting more and more frustrated with where his eyes kept glancing.

Haruhi could feel the tension in the room and subconsciously sought out Kaoru's hand for comfort. He gave her a concerned kiss on the cheek and Tamaki awwed again. She was thankful when the food arrived and no one was looking at her anymore.

xxxxxxxxxxx

**AN:** So there you have it. Hope my little scene between Hika and Kao didn't go too far for some people's tastes.

I'd love to know what you think so far!

Kisses, Amelie.


	4. Chapter 4

"Why are you so nervous?" Kaoru asked gently, once again covering his whispers with kisses.

Haruhi could only shrug, confused and embarrassed from feeling eyes on her.

"Are you sure you're not dating?" Tamaki teased.

Kaoru looked up from Haruhi, "Well this _is_ a date. So for tonight at least I can love on her all I like. When was the last time you let me take you out, Haru?"

"Uhh..." she struggled to remember.

"See, far too long. You totally owe me."

He stroked her hair and Hitomi nudged her under the stable. Getting her attention, Hitomi smiled and raised her eyebrows. Haruhi mockingly rolled her eyes.

Isamu was struggling to force his smile. He'd hoped that Tamaki's request for a meal was to establish business relations, but the blonde man seemed far more interested in making friends – particularly with Kaoru. Kaoru himself seemed to have at least thirty percent of his attention constantly fawned over Haruhi. As for his other employees, Hitomi, Mei and Yukio, his other male lawyer, kept up sociable pleasantries and maintained conversations with Hitachiin and Suoh. Isamu was sure they were setting a good base for future work relations. As for Denbe... he was awfully distracted. He was often fiddling with his hands or looking down at his plate. Kyoden's date kept pestering him for attention and gave brazen displays of affection which he really didn't seem so interested in.

"I'll take care of the bill," Tamaki said, flashing a charming smile. "Would anyone care for dessert or another drink?"

"Well how about we split that bill and get a couple bottles of champagne over here?" Kaoru interjected.

Haruhi knew Kaoru was just flashing his wealth, not wanting to be one-upped by Suoh. Her tut resulted in Kaoru's arm snaking around her. The men agreed and Tamaki summoned a waitress.

"Thank you all so much for coming this evening," Tamaki beamed.

"Well thank you for inviting us," Isamu replied.

"It's just wonderful to catch up with old friends," he smiled at Kaoru and Haruhi. "And of course to make new ones. I hope we can do this again sometime."

"That would be lovely," Koaru said.

Tamaki reached out to shake hands with Yukio and his wife as they got up to leave, making excuses about the babysitter. Idle chatter continued before Mei, Hitomi and her boyfriend left together to share a taxi. Isamu had Denbe scoot around the table to be next to Haruhi to bring the group closer. Kaoru's arm held her protectively close and Denbe had to force himself not to stare at Kaoru's hand gently stroking Haruhi's leg under the table, especially as his fingers ran up her inner thigh.

Looking up, he saw Kaoru give him a passing glare. Uh oh. He had definitely been caught. Hitachiin was a powerful man, and Denbe would be lying if he said he wasn't intimidated. However, Denbe was almost twice his age. They weren't dating, they man had no right to hog her attention all evening. And just where his hands were wandering on that slender, sculpted thigh didn't bare thinking about. It was indecent! Building up his confidence, he caught Haruhi's attention by resting his hand on her arm.

"You do look lovely tonight," he murmured.

"Have you been blinded by her beauty all night, good sir?" Tamaki chimed in.

"More like infatuated," Kyoden chuckled, never missing a chance to tease his good friend.

Kaoru looked towards Tamaki who was smiling in Haruhi's direction. His look was hardly intent or lustful. He looked... almost lovestruck. His eyes cast to Kyoden, who although it was obvious to Kaoru the man was attracted to Haruhi, maintained his professional friendly demeanour. Kaoru knew Haruhi considered him a friend. His attention then turned to Denbe.

Denbe looked _hungry._

"I think it's about time I got going, actually," Denbe composed himself and his face formed a professional smile, not wishing to draw suspicion.

He shook hands with Tamaki and Kaoru. Kaoru's grip was particularly rough. Haruhi felt Kaoru's mood lighten significantly once Denbe had left and she made a mental note to ask him about it later.

"So, dessert?" Tamaki smiled, oblivious to the hostile exchange between Kaoru and Denbe.

Isamu laughed and took a menu, as did Kyoden and Haruhi.

"Share with me?" Haruhi asked Kaoru.

"Strawberry tart?" he had pulled her chair closer to his and brought his arm around her shoulders.

"Obviously," she stated and laughed a little, enjoying the more relaxed mood at the table, especially from her partner.

"Tuna and strawberry tart?" Kyoden questioned. "You really must know her very well."

"She's not the easiest woman to please. You have to roll with what you know works," Kaoru laughed.

Haruhi looked down and blushed. Kaoru cuddled her towards him, resting their heads together and brushing his nose along hers. Haruhi felt the butterflies as his affection crossed that oh so fuzzy line into romance.

Kyoden's date pawed at him and he obligingly scooted closer so they could share a dessert menu. He looked jealously across at the easy affection between the other couple at the table. Despite Haruhi's usual reserved and quiet state, not one to enjoy being the centre of attention, she so willingly accepted Kaoru's touches and kisses. Though she didn't really cuddle him back. Perhaps she was too shy.

"Fujioka, would you come to the bathroom with me please?" the other woman asked.

"Of course... I'm sorry, I don't remember your name," Haruhi said as she stood up.

"Just call me Kari," she said casually.

"It's this way," Haruhi directed as they left the table.

"Why is that even a thing?" Tamaki said when the two women had left their company.

The four remaining men laughed.

"What do you think you're playing at?" Kari said aggressively in the restroom.

"I don't know what you mean," Haruhi said, affronted.

"Sitting there in your pretty little dress with your pretty little face, acting all shy. They're all swooning over you. It's disgusting. You already have Hitachiin, why are you going after Suoh too?"

"I'm really sorry. I'm not going after anyone. I've already said that Kao and I aren't together."

"Don't play dumb, you're all over him."

"That's just Kao. He's my best friend."

"Explain why Kyo's eyes keep heading your way as well then!"

"Again I'm sorry. Kao's behaviour might be my fault but I certainly can't be blamed for Kyoden's."

"Urgh!" the other woman slammed her hands on the counter.

She splashed her face and calmed herself down somewhat.

"Look, I'm sorry. I'm just... jealous, I guess."

"Why would you be jealous of me?" Haruhi blinked.

"It's obvious they all like you. Even your boss keeps looking your way. Kaoru's just smothering you and it's adorable but... Kyo's just staring at you and ignoring me. I thought he asked me here for an actual date..."

"Isamu asked us to bring dates. He even requested I bring Kao."

"Musuo came alone."

"Well would you want to date Denbe? He was a bit weird tonight."

"He was staring at you too."

"Do you think Kaoru's noticed? He... well both boys can be really protective."

"Definitely," Kari said flatly. She shared a smile with Haruhi in the mirror. "I really am sorry..."

"Don't worry about it," Haruhi shrugged, but a twinkle had gone from her eye.

They returned to the table as the desserts arrived. Tamaki stood up to kiss both women on the hand as they pulled out their chairs.

"Hope you washed that," Kaoru joked.

Haruhi noticed his third glass of wine was empty. Her usually well behaved twin was losing his inhibitions. He took one of the strawberries from their shared cake and placed it to her closed lips.

"Go on," he squeaked.

She rolled her eyes but let him feed her. Kari looked pleadingly at Kyoden, but alas, they had separate desserts.

"We don't need to end this here. There's a bar at the back of the restaurant with a dance floor," Tamaki said grinning.

Kaoru agreed and gave Tamaki a wad of bills from his wallet. As the cash passed their view, Kyoden and Isamu's eyes widened greedily.

"You should invite your brother, Kaoru. It's still early, after all," Tamaki's voice was relaxed and silky.

Kaoru's eyes glinted and Haruhi observed him with suspicion as he shot Hikaru a text.

_Bailey Ray's bar. Match me._

Of course. "Match me." Haruhi knew exactly what the meant: they were planning their "Which one is Hikaru" game, and of course Suoh and Isamu would be their victims. Haruhi felt herself perking up slightly. The boys' games were silly, but they were funny. And this was supposed to be a fun time, according to Tamaki, so why the hell not. Who really cared if they thought she was particularly attractive that evening. Kaoru's work had led to that before and it had passed over.

Kaoru held the small of Haruhi's back as they made their way to the bar area. They settled at a tall round table and settled their things down. Isamu placed their drink orders and paid on the firm's card. Haruhi and Kari chose seats, with their respective dates by their side in an instant. Kyoden sat down on a stool next to Kari, but Kaoru stood behind Haruhi, holding her waist.

"Did Hika give you a time?" she asked him.

"About ten minutes," Kaoru smiled and leaned over her, kissing her cheek and reaching the table for his beer. "Wanna try some?"

"Ew no, it stinks," she leaned away from the glass he held, closer into his chest.

"You're such a pussy with your drinks, Haru," he teased.

"You've been on spritzers all night," Kyoden chimed in.

"Well it's only proper for a young lady to maintain her sobriety," Tamaki danced around the table towards them, cocktail in hand.

"Oh you don't know her like I do," Kaoru grinned.

"Be nice," Haruhi scolded.

Kaoru kissed her head and tucked his waistcoat over the back of her chair.

"I'm always nice."

Kaoru and Haruhi cuddled quietly as the others chatted. He maintained his stance behind her chair, holding her close and placing the occasional kiss on her head or face. Even a couple on her neck.

Tamaki watched the cuddling couple and smiled. They looked very happy together, despite them repeating how they were just good friends. She was a gorgeous young lady and smart too, knowing she'd gotten a scholarship into Ouran. Kyoden also watched, fascinated as Haruhi began to respond to his affections. She returned his hugs and leaned into his embrace.

"Hika's arriving. I'll fetch him in," Kaoru told the group before unwinding himself from Haruhi.

In the foyer, he met Hikaru and greeted his brother with a hug.

"We have a problem, Hika," Kaoru said as his face fell.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**AN:** So this got written sooner than I expected!

Again, thanks so much for your reviews and support.

All of the loves, Amelie.


	5. Chapter 5

"What's the matter?" Hikaru asked his brother, releasing him from the hug.

"I think it's almost time..." Kaoru sniffled.

"What are you talking about?"

"They like her, Hikaru. Everybody. She's so cute and pretty and no one can keep their eyes off her. Even her boss!"

"Slow down, bro. Explain everything."

"Is he always like that?" Tamaki asked Haruhi.

"Like what?"

"So... clingy," he said the word rather nervously.

She smiled, "Not quite, but both boys are quite cuddly."

"It's very sweet. As long as the attention is not unwanted, of course."

"I don't mind at all. They're my best friends."

"I remember in middle school, they were always alone. They never had any friends... it was such a shame."

"They never had any other friends in high school either," Haruhi said rather sadly.

"How did you manage it?"

"Hmm? We were grouped together in class..." she smiled at the memory.

_Flashback_

"Fujioka, if you work with the Hitachiins... I know I said pairs but we have an odd number of students," the teacher told her.

"Of course," Haruhi agreed and smiled at the identical boys.

The boys scowled back.

"I'm Haruhi," she said, smiling at them.

Despite school being in session for two weeks now, she had hardly spoken to anyone in her class.

"I'm Kaoru. This is Hikaru," the one on the left said.

Hikaru folded his arms, "Why are you wearing _that_?"

Haruhi looked down at her crumpled burgundy jumper and frowned, "I don't have a uniform."

"You're an honour student, right? You're here on a scholarship," Kaoru said.

"So I guess your commoner family can't afford one," Hikaru scoffed.

Haruhi ignored the comment and turned her attention to the work they had been assigned.

"I expect you to finish this over the weekend," the teacher commanded.

"Guess that means we'll have to arrange a meet up," Haruhi muttered.

"You can come over to our place," Kaoru smiled.

"Really?" Hikaru smirked.

"Of course. Unless you'd rather we came to yours?"

"Nope, nope, yours is fine. What's your address?" Haruhi insisted.

"But I'd like to see how a commoner lives," Hikaru said.

"My dad works night shifts, he sleeps during the day."

"We'll pick you up," Kaoru smiled.

Haruhi sighed and jotted down her address for them.

"Tomorrow at ten?" she asked and the boys nodded.

The following morning, Haruhi put little effort into getting herself ready. The Hitachiins had already mocked her favourite sweater, so she saw little point trying to impress them. She wore jeans and a baggy t-shirt and gave her hair a half hearted comb through. At ten on the dot, she heard a rapping at her door and answered it, expecting to find one or both of the twins.

She was quite wrong.

A bald, grey bearded man gave a curt bow and offered his hand for her bag. He walked with her down the short flight of stairs and her jaw dropped as he held open the door to a white limousine.

"Damn rich people," she muttered under her breath.

Just then, two hands reached out of the door for each of hers and yanked her into the car. She plopped into a seat with Hikaru and Kaoru at either side of her. Kaoru maintained a more pleasant expression, it was easy to tell he was the softer of the two.

"So is this how the upper classes usually greet each other on the weekends?" she scoffed at them.

"Aren't you a grateful one," Hikaru said sarcastically.

"I don't mean to be... but isn't this a little excessive?"

"What do you mean?" the boys said in sync, shrugging.

"This is a limo."

"But it's our smaller limo-"

"-Our driver said the usual one wouldn't fit down your narrow streets."

"So this is how you guys usually travel... geez," she leaned back in her seat and the twins looked at her with confused expressions."

"Well how else would we travel? How do you get around?" Kaoru asked.

"The bus," she said flatly.

The boys blinked at each other, "Bus?"

"Big boxy thing... you get on, give the driver some money and get off where you want to go."

"Like a taxi?"

"Not quite... the bus only goes on a certain route. You get off closest to your destination, and lots of other people get on and off with you."

The boys blinked again. Haruhi rolled her eyes at having to explain the concept of the bus to two fifteen year old A-class students.

The car pulled onto a single track pathway lined with large trees and sprawling lawns dotted with flower beds. It meandered up a slight slope before pulling into a gravel courtyard. The door was opened for them and Kaoru slid out first. Hikaru nudged Haruhi to coax her out of the car. Her eyes widened as she looked around the estate. The house was enormous! It was obviously an old building, but it was beautifully maintained with no expense or detail spared.

"Come inside," Kaoru said warmly, smiling at Haruhi as a butler held the front door open.

The twins led her up two grand staircases and down a series of hallways, all lavishly decorated in red and gold, before opening up into a large L-shaped room at a corner of the house. Both outside walls had large windows and the room was divided into two separate spaces by shelving. On one half, there was a table and chairs and a plush-looking sofa, and the shelves were piled high with books. On the other side, the floor was strewn with cushions and beanbags and on the divider-shelf sat a giant flat-screen television, surrounded by consoles and games. There was a single sized bed tucked into a corner of the room, slightly sectioned off from the apparent TV area by a glass low coffee table.

"This is our rec room," Hikaru said as he followed Haruhi's eyes looking around.

"That door goes to our bedroom, and that one to the bathroom," Kaoru smiled, pointing.

Haruhi heard him say "bedroom" and glanced her eyes questioningly towards the bed.

"That's just in case we fall out," Kaoru said sheepishly.

"Kao can be such a bed hog," Hikaru laughed and put his arm around his brother.

"I find it a little odd that you share a bedroom in such a big house... wait. Bed hog? You sleep together?" Haruhi narrowed her eyebrows.

"Hika, you're embarrassing me..." Kaoru squeaked and pressed his face into Hikaru's shoulder.

Hikaru hugged his brother closely, "I'm sorry Kaoru. I didn't realise our brotherly love made you so uncomfortable."

"No, no," Kaoru blushed, "we've just never told anyone we share a bed together before..."

"Huh. Guess that did kind of slip out," Hikaru brushed his nose against Kaoru's and released the younger boy from the hug.

As if like magnets, they each found the other's hand and squeezed tight, lacing their fingers.

Haruhi just stared as the boys remembered she was in the room. The boys acted as if nothing had happened and made their way into the studying section of the room, sitting at the table. Their hands remained clasped in Hikaru's lap, and he rubbed his thumb in circles over Kaoru's hand to comfort the shyer of the two. Haruhi sat opposite them, pulling a note pad out of her bag.

They picked up on the project where they had left off on Friday. Getting over half way through by lunchtime, the twins were quickly tiring of the work. A platter of sandwiches and fruit had been silently delivered by a maid.

"Can we take a break?" Kaoru whined and slumped into his brother.

Haruhi watched as Hikaru's arms wound around Kaoru and tugged him into his lap. It was a very odd exchange for brothers...

"I think we should put a movie on and get to know Haruhi a little better," Hikaru said with a grin.

Kaoru bounced out of his brother's lap and was followed to the TV area by his brother and Haruhi at a more reasonable pace.

He slipped a comedy into the DVD player and settled himself on the largest bean bag. Haruhi angled herself towards him on a cushion as Hikaru sat with Kaoru, the latter resting his head in the former's lap.

"So Haruhi, what do your parents do for a living?" Hikaru asked.

"My dad works at a bar," Haruhi said, unabashed.

"What about your mum?" Kaoru asked.

"She died when I was little... but when she was alive she was a lawyer."

The boys caught each other in the eye and gave her a sympathetic look. Haruhi took the opportunity of the silence to wipe her glasses with her sleeve.

Both boys gasped.

"Oh wow!" Hikaru exclaimed, his face suddenly up against Haruhi's.

"Why do you wear those things?!" Kaoru barked.

"Because I need them to see," she replied bluntly. "I used to have contacts."

"Well get some more contacts!" the twins demanded together.

"Huh?"

"In the straightest way possible, you're _gorgeous_!" Hikaru beamed.

"...Huh?"

"Let's give Haruhi a makeover!" Kaoru squealed.

Having each arm linked by the boys she was launched into the bedroom, to the opposite wall and into the expansive walk-in closet where the boys whipped clothes under her neck from here, there and everywhere.

"Here, change into these," Hikaru commanded, a genuine smile on his face for the first time.

"What? Why?" Haruhi protested.

"And we'll give you this too," Kaoru hung up a blue school uniform on a convenient hook by the door.

"Hurry up or I'll cut you out of those clothes," Hikaru snarled, making a cutting action with his fingers.

"Urgh, fine, but you two have to get out," she told them.

"Don't be shy," the twins smiled together.

"I'm not being shy, I'm trying to be decent," Haruhi retorted, clasping her arms across her chest.

"Decent?" Kaoru asked.

"...Decent..." Hikaru's eyes widened and he looked at his brother's face.

"You're a girl!" they exclaimed.

"...duh."

They hastily retreated out of the room and just a few moments later Haruhi joined them, now in tight fitting purple jeans and a similarly fitting grey and white striped polo shirt. A shiver ran up Hikaru's spine as he could make out the slight curves of her hips and tiny mounds of her breasts. Kaoru grinned at her.

"You look really good, Haruhi," he said.

"Whoever could have thought such a hot chick was hiding under that rubbish," Hikaru announced.

"Uhh... thanks? I guess..." Haruhi answered. "Can I have my glasses back?"

"Absolutely not," they said in unison.

"We've sent our driver out for some contacts for you," Kaoru assured her.

"But I can't afford new contacts!" she whined.

"Don't worry about it," Hikaru said.

"It's no big deal to us," Kaoru finished.

Haruhi leaned against a doorway and sighed, pulling at the tight shirt to stretch it out into a more comfortable fit. Hikaru swatted her hand away and Kaoru inched his way to her side to take up the slack fabric around her waist, forming it to her shape. Hikaru frowned.

"You can't really blame us for thinking you're a boy," he argued.

Haruhi looked down and shrugged, "I don't really care if you see me as a boy or a girl," she stated flatly.

"Why don't you grow your hair out? Or at least get a somewhat stylish cut?" Kaoru released his grip on her shirt and began running his hands through her hair.

"Some kid in my neighbourhood got gum in my hair over the break, so I cut it off. It's easier to manage this way. I don't really care what I look like."

Hikaru sighed, "You're hopeless."

"But she's cute," Kaoru beamed and slung his arm around her shoulder.

Haruhi wiggled out of his grasp, "Hey!"

They finished the movie whilst waiting for the contacts to be delivered. Haruhi could hardly make out the blurry images and was quite bored. Kaoru had noticed her distant expression and shuffled towards her.

"Can I play with your hair?" he asked quietly.

"Uh... sure,"

He sat on his knees behind her and began by slowly untangling her thick, brown locks with his fingers. He braided little sections here and there, before undoing them and forming a different style. Haruhi soon found herself relaxing into his gentle touches. She glanced over at a stony faced Hikaru. He sat hunched up at a considerable distance from them, reeling inside. He couldn't understand how he felt, but he certainly didn't like it. And it was all this girl's fault. Kaoru was infatuated with her. He could just make out Haruhi's contented face in his peripheral vision and he snapped.

No one took his Kaoru so easily.

"Let's play a game," he said, an evil glint in his eye.

Kaoru immediately understood where this was going and took his hands away from Haruhi, who would never admit to being disappointed at having him go. The boys twirled around each other in a blur and suddenly they were shirtless and wearing only identical jeans and caps to cover the opposing part lines in their hair. Haruhi internally blushed at their toned torsos on display before her.

"Let's play the Which One is Hikaru Game!" they said together.

Haruhi considered it for a moment before pointing to the twin on the left.

"You're Hikaru," she said confidently.

The boys looked at each other and then back to Haruhi.

"How... how could you tell?" they asked in sync.

She shrugged, "I just can."

"No one's ever won before..." Kaoru murmured as they put their shirts back on.

They looked longingly at her back as she headed into the bathroom to insert the silently deposited contact lenses.

"Hika... can we keep her?" Kaoru pleaded his gaping brother.

He slowly nodded, dumbstruck.

"I can hear you!" Haruhi called. "I'm not some kind of object."

"Isn't it obvious?" Kaoru said, appearing at her side in an instant, beaming.

"You're our new toy," Hikaru grinned, and it was his turn to hook his arm around her.

She didn't pull away.

_End of flashback. _

"I tried to get them to join a club with me. They said they would if I could beat their game... I never managed it," Tamaki said, almost mournfully.

"They can be kind of assholes when it comes to socialising," Haruhi shrugged.

She looked towards where a small commotion was forming. Cameras were flashing near the entrance and a crowd of people parted like the sea. They dispersed as their focus strategically blocked them out. Haruhi could see two perfectly mussed mops of orange hair heading in her direction and smiled.

"Speak of the devil..." she giggled.

"Devil_s_," Tamaki corrected.

Haruhi slid out of her stool and reached her arms up to hug Hikaru around the neck. Instead, she found herself sandwiched between the twins as Kaoru hugged her from behind. They each nuzzled into her neck and from the corner of her eye she could see an evil gleam on both their faces.

"What are you doing?" she hissed.

Kyoden, Tamaki and Isamu gathered together to watch the exchange while Kari ignored them all in favour of her tequila shot.

"They really are identical..." Kyoden muttered. "I thought it was just good photo editing."

"I've never seen them together before," Isamu said.

Tamaki released the breath he had held as both boys wrapped around Haruhi, "They're just like I remember..."

As one, the twins moved towards Tamaki and looked him square in the eye.

"How about a rematch?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

**AN:** So, bit of a chaotic chapter I realise... but idk, I think I might do more little flashback scenes from their youth. They're really fun to write. Willing to take requests on that front, if anyone is interested in making a contribution.

Please continue to send me your love in the form of follows, favs and reviews. Means the world to me!

Amelie.


	6. Chapter 6

The twins twirled around each other and came to a standstill with their infamous identical caps. Having removed his waistcoat earlier, they wore identical white shirts, black pants and shoes. Adorably enough, the caps were the same blue as her dress. Haruhi was pretty sure they had doubles of everything they owned. She could also almost guarantee that, however outlandish the style, they would even have matching socks and boxers. She watched Tamaki's face move from fascination to horror to sheer determination.

His intense determination quickly dissolved into finger wagging and "eenie meenie minie mo". Counting ahead, she already knew he would choose the wrong twin and smiled as she saw the twinkle in Hikaru's eye that meant he had worked it out too.

"This one is Hikaru!" Tamaki declared.

"Nope," they said together.

"You lose again," Kaoru said.

"Won't you ever learn?" Hikaru smirked.

Tamaki crossed his arms in a pout and took another swig of his drink.

"How can we tell you're not lying to us?" Kyoden said, rather bravely.

"Haruhi?" the twins outstretched their arms to beckon her over.

She obliged and stood between them, facing the group.

"This one's Hikaru," she jabbed him in the chest, "and this one's Kaoru," another jab for the other twin.

"Correct as always," they smiled and kissed her cheeks.

"And now you have to dance with us," Hikaru continued as Kaoru took a small bow and took her hand.

It was his date after all, he got the first dance. Haruhi knew better than to argue as Kaoru took hold of her hips and pulled her flush to him, beginning to move with the music. After a twirl, Hikaru stepped in and continued his own take on the dance with her. The routine continued, passing the young woman between them as they always did. She did love this, just a little bit.

After three songs, she was free to leave and the twins danced together, catching some looks. They made little hip wiggles and bumped off of each other, perfectly synchronised at all times.

"How do you do it?" Tamaki asked as she sat down between him and Isamu.

"Do what?" Haruhi replied.

"Tell them apart. They're like... clones. Look at them, it's almost robotic."

"I just can," she shrugged. "They look similar, but they're very different, really. You just have to spend enough time with them to find their individuality."

The three men continued to watch the dancing. Kari had moved off to sit at the bar, thoroughly depressed from being ignored.

"Nope... still not seeing any differences," Kyoden said eventually.

"They just blur into one," Isamu grumbled.

Haruhi smiled at the twins and they immediately saw her and took it as a hint to rejoin the group. Haruhi stood on her tiptoes and swiped off Kaoru's cap and then reached behind her to take his waistcoat and put it on for him. She stood probably far closer than necessary as she fastened his buttons. Hikaru slid behind her and held her waist.

"Still my date!" Kaoru barked, slapping Hikaru's hands away from Haruhi.

Hikaru grumbled, but these were the rules. It was Kaoru's night, though judging by the state of Kaoru's bedroom, he'd already made his move.

"Dance with me again," Kaoru whispered into Haruhi's ear, nibbling the lobe as he awaited a response.

"Not in these shoes..." she groaned. "My feet are killing me. I could always take them off."

The twins glared at her.

"On second thoughts how about you just sit here and look delicious."

"No need to ruin our hard work!" Hikaru sat next to Kyoden in Kari's abandoned seat.

"A final round of drinks?" Tamaki purred.

The group nodded and Kaoru headed to the bar with him to lend a hand. As they waited for their orders, Tamaki looked back at Haruhi. Kaoru followed his eye.

"She's beautiful, right?" he said.

"A fascinating young woman. I'm glad you found a friend," Tamaki smiled warmly. "I could never have fulfilled that roll as well as she has."

"I certainly hope not!" Karou spluttered.

Tamaki's eyes widened.

"I shouldn't have said that," Kaoru coughed, but continued to giggle lightly. "Besides... if we'd gone with you we might never have become so close to her."

"If that were the case, maybe someone else would have a chance..." Tamaki trailed off, looking slightly wistful.

"Oh you're welcome to take a chance," Kaoru said honestly. "Just be aware of how hard we'll kill you if she gets hurt."

Tamaki nodded and smiled, "So how do I do it?"

"Ha! I gave you permission, but I won't give you advice!" the red head scoffed.

Tamaki laughed but Kaoru's face settled into worry.

"Hik's gonna kill me for this but... here," he handed Tamaki a note. "This would have been your prize if you'd won the game."

"What is it?"

"Her number..."

"What about the others? Isamu, Kyoden... Denbe," he almost spat the last name.

Kaoru realised he hadn't be the only one to become irritated with Denbe's constant staring at dinner. That bloke was creepy.

"I'm just levelling the playing field. They all already have her number," he smirked and took half of the drinks back to the table.

Tamaki followed with the remaining glasses, a silly smile on his face as he pointedly moved his stool an inch closer to Haruhi. She didn't notice, but Hikaru certainly did and he wound his arm around her, scowling at the blonde over her shoulder as he disguised his actions by fixing a stray hair. Tired, she leaned into his arm and he tucked her in for a warm hug.

"Still my date," Kaoru snapped his fingers in his twin's face to bring the boy out of his thoughts as he snuggled Haruhi.

"You're such a Haru-hog," Hikaru scolded. "Let me have my hug, greedy bastard."

Kaoru traced his fingers on the back of Hika's neck as he got his fill of Haruhi's sweet strawberry musk.

Kyoden rest his head on his hands against the table, only to be prodded by Isamu.

"I still expect you in work before nine. No sympathy for a hangover," the boss demanded.

"Ugghmrrrr," he grumbled, but forced himself upright.

"Where did Kari go?" Haruhi asked, slightly muffled by Hikaru.

"...Oops."

Kyoden cast his eyes around the room looking for her distinctive mound of tussled dark hair. He found it, locked to the lips of an overweight, sweaty middle aged man in a track suit in a corner of the room.

"Ouch..." Isamu and Tamaki said together.

Kyoden shrugged, "I'm too drunk to put out tonight anyway."

"Looks like Kao's getting to that point too," Tamaki teased as the twin in question leaned heavily on Haruhi and his brother.

Kaoru nodded and drained his glass, "Yup. Date's over."

He kissed Haruhi full on the lips before flopping back down on his brother's shoulders.

"Ooh goody. All mine," Hikaru wrapped his arm around Haruhi again.

"Isamu, Aida, I'll give you both a ride home," Tamaki smiled as the last of the drinks were emptied.

They easily agreed and the group headed into the foyer. Kaoru was still slumped on Hikaru, who was holding most of his weight.

"If he throws up, you're dealing with it," Haruhi demanded Hikaru.

Tamaki's eyes sparkled as he took Haruhi's hand, "I hope we meet again soon. I'll be sure to be in touch."

He pressed his lips to her hand and lingered slightly. The not-completely-sober Haruhi giggled.

Hikaru bundled his two friends into the Bentley and gave his goodbyes to their companions. They headed back to Haruhi's apartment building. On arrival, Hikaru dragged Kaoru into the small bedroom and stripped him of his clothes. He pushed him into the lower bunk and gave his backside a playful spank before covering him in the duvet. He then undressed himself to his underwear and met with Haruhi, who had hovered at their door, to get the zipper on the back of her dress.

"Well I was going to bang your brains out," he whispered seductively, tracing her breast with his hand, "but I think my sexual prowess will be wasted on such a drunken creature."

"I'm not drunk!" she slurred slightly.

It was true. She wasn't completely wasted like Kaoru and Kyoden, but she was a light drinker and the expensive wine in her spritzers was more than she was used to, so she was definitely fuzzy.

Hikaru pulled her to him and lifted her easily with one arm. She wrapped her legs around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder, nibbling his ear.

"It's a good thing I love you, you little minx," he teased as he sat her on the bed and watched her peel off her underwear.

He joined her in both nudity and the bed, opening up his arms for her to curl into him. They kissed passionately for a few moments before she rolled away, too tired to continue. Hikaru began drawing little doodles on her back with his finger, something he knew would send her off to sleep in an instant.

He, on the other hand, had a considerable struggle getting to sleep. He couldn't help thinking about what Kaoru had said in the foyer of the restaurant. They all wanted her. And none of them would have to share.

Isamu was the first to be dismissed from the contenders. He was obviously attracted to Haruhi, but she was hot, who could blame him? He was forty seven and had just come out of a heated divorce. Neither Kaoru or Hikaru thought the man would use his position as Haruhi's boss to have his way with her. He could admire from afar.

Kyoden also didn't have much of a chance. They'd heard her speak fondly about him, but in a purely platonic way. The twins knew she held no attraction for him, despite his reasonable looks and perfectly appropriate age of twenty eight. He was kind to her and fun to be with. Sure, he flirted, but they could put part of that down to just his personality rather than his attraction to Haruhi. Plus, his obvious failings with Kari meant he wasn't all that skilled with wooing.

Denbe was a serious concern. He was considerably older than they were, in his early forties, but he looked and acted ten years younger. They'd heard very little about him from Haruhi, other than he was always quite polite and quiet. He was good friends with Kyoden and had seemed nice when they saw him meet Haruhi in the mornings when they dropped her at work but tonight... Kaoru said he felt wary of him. As if he could pounce on Haruhi with little warning.

Now Tamaki... ah, King Tamaki. Kaoru had described the light in Haruhi's eyes as she took in Tamaki's stunning appearance. He'd heard with his own ears her adorable giggle as he kissed her hand as they parted. Kaoru was right in that, out of the four possible suitors he was most preferable. He was just a year older than them and came from a wealthy family. Knowing his reputation from school, he was reported to be a god of charm and romance. But they'd never known him to have been in a committed relationship... so maybe he just liked to make them swoon without taking it much further. Overall, he was a pretty good guy.

Hikaru cuddled into Haruhi. He knew there was some kind of spark between her and Tamaki. He couldn't imagine how the future would pan out if the blonde had taken a lucky guess and won the game. He contented himself with the fact that the only way he could really communicate with her was through the law firm. That gave Haruhi the choice in taking it a step further.

And he could be okay with that... maybe.

xxxxxxxxxx

**AN: **Kay, so not quite as long as my target dictates but this seemed the natural ending for this chapter. To clear up a sprig of confusion, Kyoden, Isamu and Denbe are all first names. The whole Japanese lastname as givenname like a British boarding school goes over my head a bit, so I'm just gonna ignore it.

All the loves! Please continue your support.

Amelie, xxx.


	7. Chapter 7

It was three... maybe four in the morning when the pair found themselves disturbed. They faced opposite sides of the room and each assumed the other was snuggling closer. They were ok with that, but being mostly asleep, they both ignored the affection.

Haruhi was relieved to be free from a headache when she fully awoke to her alarm at 7am. She propped herself up on her elbow and looked over at Hikaru. He was already awake, mirroring her position. He looked at the gap between them and she followed his gaze.

There was a lump in the bed.

A suspiciously Kaoru shaped lump.

It dawned on Haruhi that said lump was probably what woke her earlier in the morning. It made a strange, disgruntled noise when she pulled the cord above her head to turn the light on. Hikaru bit his lip on his laugh and put an arm over the lump.

Haruhi got herself ready, ignoring Hikaru's frown as she chose a cream blouse and grey skirt. Totally boring. Hikaru stayed in the bed, lightly tussling his baby brother's hair as the latter snuggled deeper and deeper into Hikaru's chest, hiding from the world.

"You look after this thing," Haruhi said, stroking Kaoru's head sweetly, "I'll get myself to work. Love you."

Hikaru leaned upwards and they shared a brief kiss.

"Love you," he said, folding his arms around Kaoru again.

"Ruu ruu," said the lump.

Haruhi was fairly good at translating the twins' hangover talk and took it to mean "love you". Oh well, at least he tried. Adorable bastard.

Denbe sat awkwardly alone in the shadowy corner of the office where his desk sat. He almost felt sorry for Kyoden, who was hunched over his laptop desperate to avoid the glaring sunlight from the east-facing window right next to his desk. Haruhi smiled sympathetically at him as she entered the building and headed towards him as she left her computer to load.

"If it makes you feel any better, Kao's pretty sick too," she half laughed.

"A little... bet he's still in bed though," he rubbed his eye.

"I don't think he wants to get up till bed time. You'd better perk up after lunch, I haven't done a full court session yet."

"Urgh, someone should have reminded me of that before I drank those shots with Tamaki," he groaned.

Denbe approached them, curious as he overheard the conversation.

"Start a bit of a party after I left then?" he asked.

"We went through to the bar. Tamaki had Kao invite Hikaru. He's a nice guy," Kyoden smiled.

"First name terms... wow," Denbe was slightly miffed.

Kyoden shrugged and took a drink of water.

They prepared their case for court during the morning. Kyoden appreciated working with Haruhi's gentle caring nature as he recovered from his headache. Denbe watch enviously as they worked together amicably. He took a slice of comfort in the fact that Haruhi wasn't half as well done up today as she had been all week, she obviously hadn't spent the night with the twins. However, his hopes were dashed as he continued to eavesdrop on the conversation.

"Have you heard from Kari?" Haruhi asked.

Kyoden shook his head, "Nah. She's a pretty face but she can be a bitch. I don't feel as bad knowing Kaoru didn't get any either."

He was half teasing, half observing her reaction from the lewd turn the conversation had taken. Haruhi blushed and shook her head, "Hika dumped him in their room."

"And where did Hika sleep?" he prodded gently.

Haruhi blushed harder and Kyoden smirked.

"It was just sleeping," she mumbled. "And we woke up with Kao in the middle."

"I promise not to judge. They obviously care very deeply about you. Bit weird they get in bed together though."

"Well, they _are_ weird," she could only agree and laughed awkwardly.

Court went smoothly and Kyoden dropped Haruhi at home. He noticed the two gleaming sports cars he now recognised as Hikaru and Kaoru's in the gated car park and nodded at them, getting Haruhi's attention.

"Still here?"

"Looks like it," she smiled.

Kyoden could sense the happiness radiating from her as she unclipped her seatbelt.

"Get one of them in the office for some work tomorrow," he said as she got out of the car.

She nodded and shot him a wave. Kyoden loitered a moment in the lot to see which apartment she went to. Just for future reference and all that.

He genuinely found no issue with the fact she was clearly sleeping with both of them. What was the odd shag between besties, right? He'd certainly had his fair share. He was far to jealous to even pass judgement on the fact both men obviously knew she was sleeping with both of them. She was a gorgeous woman and he strongly admired her. The Hitachiins would be a formidable wall to break down if he were to ever take his chance with her.

Kyoden made a mental note to keep what he'd learned secret from Denbe. His friend had been weird yesterday evening. Far more intense and preoccupied than usual. He knew he fancied Haruhi quite considerably too, but thought the man was just engaged by her beauty. His behaviour last night had unhinged him slightly, and the way he'd glowered at him from the corner all day just made him shudder.

The front door was still locked from when Haruhi had left that morning, so the twins clearly hadn't left the house all day. She hung up her jacket and kicked off her shoes, confused as to why she couldn't hear the TV blaring. She glanced into the living room to find it empty and headed the opposite way down the hallway to her bedroom.

Kaoru squirmed under Hikaru as the older twin pinned his wrists above his head and bit down on his shoulder. Hikaru ground his naked crotch against Kaoru's and made his brother moan again. They looked at each other in horror as they heard a key in the door. Hikaru desperately reached for the tissues on the dresser and cleaned off Kaoru's splattered chest. The impending discovery had instantly shrunk both their members down to their usual state and they wriggled to position themselves in an innocent cuddle, Kaoru resting on Hikaru's chest.

Just in time, too.

"Have you just not moved all day?" Haruhi demanded as she found the pair lying dozily in each other's arms.

Neither of them responded with anything more than a lazy shake of the head as they both watched longingly as Haruhi changed her work clothes for comfortable sweats and a tank top.

"Are you even dressed?"

They grinned at each other and shook their heads again. She ignored them, nudity being their usual state, and left the room, heading to the kitchen to throw something from the freezer in for dinner.

The twins shared a sigh of relief and a sly smile to one another. Hikaru gave his brother a quick squeeze and they slid out of the bed together. They crossed their fingers Haruhi would keep herself busy as they quickly washed each other off in the shower. Once clean and mostly dry, Kaoru teasingly whipped Hikaru across the back of his legs with the damp towel, giggling manically as Hikaru tried to lasso him with his own towel.

Kaoru scampered out of the bathroom but his path to the safety of the bedroom was blocked by Hikaru who had jumped in front of him. His only choice was to turn left and head down the short hallway into the main room. It was slippery going on the laminate flooring so neither could run at full pace but Hikaru quickly managed to catch up. He looped his arms around his brother's naked waist and tackled him into the sofa, tickling him furiously once he had the other man pinned.

"You know, one of these days I'm gonna bring company home, and then what will you do?" Haruhi said sternly, crossing her arms in front of the sofa, glaring down at the boys.

"Well make sure they're hot," Kaoru said through his giggles.

"Then they can join in," Hikaru gave a playful nip to Kaoru's ear lobe as he rolled to his side slightly, still holding him by the waist.

Haruhi dropped her arms in defeat and settled on the armchair with her laptop as the twins cuddled into each other. So it was a brotherly love day, huh? Their constant attention could get annoying at times, especially when they became so clingy in public like they had last night, but she often enjoyed their comforting hugs after work. Court had been a pretty big event for her and she could have done with the sweet little pecks Hikaru was doting on his twin to be doted on her instead... not that she'd ever tell them that, of course.

On the upside, she might get the bed to herself for the first time in a week.

After the quick dinner, Hikaru disappeared into the box room and reappeared fully clothed, designer as usual.

"Where are you going?" Haruhi and Kaoru asked together.

"Well, one of us has to get some work done today," he smiled reluctantly. "And I won't sleep well anyway, I fell back asleep after you left and we didn't really wake up till two-ish."

They both understood, but that didn't mean Kaoru had to be happy about it. He poked his bottom lip out in protest but sensing the impending sulk, Hikaru quickly licked it away. Kaoru couldn't hide his grin, despite making a show of balling himself up in at the end of the sofa with the blanket that was always kept over the back.

"Thanks for leaving me with The Incredible Sulk," Haruhi said sarcastically as she walked Hikaru to the both took an affectionate glance at Kaoru. It was a shame the blanket wasn't green. "But good for you for getting your work done."

They exchanged kisses on the cheek and a tight hug before he left. She was proud of him. He'd always needed more encouragement and coaching that Kaoru to maintain an interest in something, but the Ru Project had completely captivated him. "Work" to the twins meant sketching, designing, spilling out all their creative visions into what was always amazing. Hikaru could draw all night without running out of steam.

Of course, Kaoru had a similar level of dedication, but they worked to their own schedule for designing. They had the leading decision in the technical side of the company, but there was very little they could actually do themselves as it rested in the hands of their employees.

Haruhi sat on the opposite end of the couch to Kaoru and again opened up her laptop, scanning her social media pages. A friend of a friend had posted a hazy picture of the twins walking arm-in-arm in the restaurant yesterday. The comments gushed about their beauty and charm.

Kaoru was rustling under the blanket across from her, peeking over the edge to watch her. He made a small squeak when she ignored him. Finally looking up, she noticed the strain in his eyes which she recognised as him holding back tears. The colour had drained from his face and he looked positively ill. He'd said yesterday he'd felt a bit funky... maybe he was coming down with something.

"What's wrong?" she asked softly, reaching for his hand.

He shrugged and tugged her closer. She had to quickly close her laptop and rest it on the floor. They held each other for a few moments before he finally spoke.

"I think I've done something I shouldn't have..." he whispered.

She didn't respond, waiting for him to continue.

Stroking her hair, Kaoru remembered what he'd done last night. He'd given out her number to Tamaki Suoh – without her permission, no less. He'd thought it was the right thing to do, at the time. Despite their differences in middle school, Kaoru liked Tamaki. He was honest and caring. Kaoru only wanted the best for Haruhi, to be safe and happy, and he'd decided Suoh would be a likely candidate for providing that.

He fingered the chain around her neck and held the pendant on his thumb. Three intertwined hearts, white gold and encrusted with diamonds that he'd bought her for her 21st birthday. Would it really be so wrong if they stayed as a three forever? He smacked the thought away. That was so selfish. Haruhi had already expressed to them how she'd like to get married and start a family. It seriously sucked how it couldn't be him or Hikaru. But would just one of them having her be less painful than neither of them having her?

"Do you love me?" he finally asked, full of sincerity.

"Of course I love you," she smiled and kissed his cheek, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I love you too," he kissed her back, on the lips.

"You've been so clingy lately," she scolded.

He shrugged, "Hikaru's clingy too."

She considered his response. Hikaru was a different kind of clingy to Kaoru. Hikaru just wanted to touch her; Kaoru kept a hold of her.

Before the conversation could continue, they heard a phone vibrate on the coffee table. Kaoru tensed. What if it was Tamaki? He must be pretty keen if he was making contact just the day after meeting her.

"It's yours," Haruhi said, tucking back into his arms after reaching out to take the offending phone. She read the text. "Hika's asking black or brown?"

Kaoru hardly had time to feel relieved as he was slapped with the confusion, "Black or brown for what?"

"It doesn't say," she looked up expectantly, waiting to reply on his behalf.

He smiled into her deep mahogany eyes, "Brown."

She sent off the text and dismissed the phone to the table.

"So what were you saying? You've done something wrong?"

"It's nothing," his grin became more natural. "You'll find out soon enough anyway," he guessed.

"Then tell me now."

"Nope. Hikaru's gonna hate me for it anyway. I'd rather keep you on my side for now," he teased.

"Hika could _never_ hate you. And neither could I," she jabbed him in the chest. "You must've done something pretty stupid to be thinking like that. Go on, at least give me a clue."

"Just levelling the playing field. And I'll hold you to that," he gave her a light kiss.

Something about Kaoru felt tentative. He was somewhat nervous and childlike in the way he caressed her.

"Do you remember when this used to be weird?"she asked him.

"What?" he said, coming out of his daydream.

"When you and Hika always wanted to cuddle..."

"And you thought we were a pair of perves," he cut her off.

"I still think you're a pair of perves."

_Flashback_

"Hey Haruhi," Hikaru greeted her in the classroom, swooping a hand through her hair as he passed by her to sit down.

An identical hand smoothed her boyish cut back into place before giving a squeeze on her shoulder.

"Hello," Kaoru said, smiling.

"Hey," she responded nonchalantly.

She hunched her shoulders to adjust the fabric from Kaoru's weight.

"Do you want to come over to our place this evening?" they said together. It was like having human surround sound as the chorus came from either side of her.

Of course, being a Friday, she expected this question. It had become routine for them to hang out on the weekends, ever since they'd done that project together at the beginning of the year. But still, this was the first time in the two months they'd kept this up that they'd invited her over on a Friday.

"We're not hanging out tomorrow?" she asked.

"You said your dad would be working all weekend," said Hikaru on her left.

"So we thought you might like to stay with us, instead of being all by yourself," Kaoru smiled from the other side.

"Well..." she thought about it briefly. She hadn't been to a sleepover since the beginning of middle school.

"Pleeeease?" their faces filled her vision and she shot backwards in her chair.

"Okay, okay, fine."

The twins grinned and each began rubbing her cheeks with theirs.

"We're going to have so much fun!" they sang.

"Please get off of me," she groaned.

They each gave her a quick, hesitant kiss on the cheek before retreating as she demanded. They were always touching her like this and it half bothered Haruhi that they had no sense of personal space.

Their evening passed as their time together usually did. They watched movies and played video games and had a feast of divine foods to gorge themselves on. One particularly juicy raspberry sent droplets flying everywhere from Hikaru's mouth. One of these droplets landed on Haruhi's cheek. Before she should reach up to wipe it off, Kaoru's tongue had done the job for her.

She glared at him and gave the affected area a vicious rub with her sleeve.

"You can't just lick people, Kaoru," she scolded him.

He shrugged and smiled at her, pulling her hand away from her face with a light tug at the elbow. Hikaru grinned, a glint in his eye.

"But you're delicious, Haruhi," he whispered sensually, leaning in and running his tongue along her jaw.

She desperately scooted away from him, only to find Kaoru's arms holding her around her shoulders. He breathed down her neck and nope, that was absolutely a shudder of horror. It wasn't sexy at all. She pushed away the thoughts and maintained her usual stance.

"Creepy line, you're crossing it," she said sternly, arms folded in front of her.

The evil glint left their eyes and the kindness returned.

"We're sorry, Haruhi," Kaoru whispered sincerely, unwinding his arms.

"Yeah, we'll be good," Hikaru slid a loose arm around her back and pressed his forehead to her shoulder.

She brushed off the event. They were weird, but they were fast becoming her best friends. Of course, they meant no harm. The shows and books they enjoyed hardly gave them a good idea of boundaries. And with not having any other friends besides each other, they treated her how they'd always acted as a pair.

Kaoru shuffled off to choose another game and Hikaru stopped nuzzling Haruhi with his forehead and sat normally in the nest of cushions next to her. They both ignored the arm he still held around Haruhi. It felt right, natural, and there was nothing that needed to be done about it.

_End of flashback._

_xxxxxxxxxxxxx_

**AN:** I really enjoyed writing this chapter. The twins are just so freaking cute in my head and I can completely go off on one writing them.

Hope you enjoyed!

Love, Amelie.


	8. Chapter 8

Kaoru was stroking her hair absentmindedly as Haruhi lost herself in the memory. A gentle kiss on the temple and an adjustment of his arms brought her back to reality. She cupped his cheek and shuffled into his lap slightly.

"I wanted to ask you something, about last night?" she asked quietly. Neither twin really liked being put on the spot.

"What is it?" he purred.

"You didn't seem to like Denbe very much," she got right to the point.

He shrugged, as if it was obvious, "I didn't like how he was looking at you."

"Hitomi and Kari both said that," she paused, struggling to put into words how she may or may not have looked, "that Denbe, Kyoden and even Suoh were...uh... looking at me."

Kaoru smiled as she shrank in his arms. She was so cute when she went all shy.

Haruhi knew the twins could get very jealous and protective whenever there were other guys involved. When they first went into university and she began making friends in her class, the twins would wait outside of her lessons and lectures and make a point of whisking her away, often staring down any males she may have been in conversation with to the point where most started to avoid her, afraid of those piercing amber eyes.

Kaoru could easily have reverted into his youthful jealousy and forbade her from associating with him. He could easily have made the right calls and had the man removed from the company but... Haruhi would be so disappointed, and he couldn't handle that. He'd promised himself he'd let her make her own decisions, and loving her as he did, he would stand by her.

"Just be careful," he breathed and captured her eyes with his.

She stared into his eyes, unable to look away. He looked so serious... and at the same time, he was melting her heart. He slowly leaned down and kissed her lips. It took her a moment to kiss back. She tingled all over from his romantic endeavours. After a few slow movements against his mouth, she put her arms around his neck and slid her tongue against his bottom lip, asking for entry.

He quickly obliged and she felt him smile against her. She closed her eyes and lost herself in him, but his remained open, and he remained alert. He watched her lids flutter and her eyebrows raise as he explored the inside of her mouth. His hands roamed and he knew just wear to touch to send a shiver down her spine.

The kiss came to a natural end and they smiled against each other. Haruhi rested her head in the crook of his neck and lightly drew patterns on his bare chest as the blanket fell away with her movement. Kaoru rested his head against hers and breathed in her scent, holding her just so.

"Why did we ever break up?" she whispered. In truth, it was only meant to be a thought but she had no regrets it slipped out.

"We didn't, technically," he mumbled back, his voice throaty and hot against her ear as he kept it quiet. She shuddered as she felt the rumble of his chest.

She knew it was wrong, but right here and now in Kaoru's perfect embrace, she sincerely wished there was no Hikaru. Wouldn't life just be so much easier if she had just one love, not two? She could have this every day, this perfectly comfortable contentment with the man of her dreams.

But there were always those days when Hikaru could make her feel just the same way.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Kaoru slowly began to pull up her tank top, brushing his hands against the soft skin of her back as it rose up to her shoulders. She loosened her arms just enough that he could pull it over her head and then went to work getting rid of her pants and underwear in one swoop. In the same movement, he curled her into the blanket with him. Their bare skin pressed together so intimately was more than just the usual sexual contact they shared so casually.

The line between friendship and romance had been completely obliterated as they again kissed tenderly. Raising her hip with one well place hand Kaoru guided her into position on top of him and they rocked together. Their movements were slow and meaningless in the beginning, but a light film of sweat soon began to cover both of their bodies and it was now far too hot with the blanket wrapped around them. Kaoru cast it aside and grinned against the kisses. Haruhi opened her eyes and could only see Kaoru's staring back at her, sparkling with love.

Her orgasm raced through her and drew out Kaoru's. He made the first noise of the entire affair as he gripped her shoulders. Haruhi couldn't move for her exhaustion and it took the remainder of Kaoru's strength to hold her up and clean them off.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Kaoru, expert as he was, knew how to take the relationship back down a notch just by squeezing her shoulders with his arm and tucking her into his chest. They were still a tangled, sweaty, naked mess, but they were just friends... honest.

Kaoru's phone rang on the table. They recognised the ringtone.

"I remember why we broke up," Kaoru purred into Haruhi's ear.

She blinked at him.

"My brother just has the best timing."

Despite her exhaustion, Haruhi could only laugh at the ridiculous truth in his words. Kaoru, unwilling to let go of Haruhi, stretched his legs out and grabbed the phone with his feet and worked it around to his hand.

"Hikaru, how did you know?" he said teasingly as a greeting when he answered the call.

Hikaru understood the comment just from his brother's breathy voice. "Twin telepathy, dearest Kaoru, I have a raging hard on while I'm sketching shoes so that could only mean one thing."

"I didn't realise you had a new fetish."

"Why brown?" the conversation took a sudden twist and threw Kaoru off.

"What?"

Now speaking stylist jargon, Haruhi blocked out the conversation and adjusted herself in Kaoru's lap, now leaning on the arm of the sofa instead of Kaoru. She reached for her own phone and ran through her emails and then began playing a mindless mathematical game.

Realising Hikaru was going to take Kaoru's attention for the remainder of the evening, she headed off to shower and get to bed. She knew better than to interrupt the twins when they were focused. It was almost one in the morning when Kaoru joined her. She stirred just enough to roll over and whisper to him.

"Why does my room smell of sex? I just changed these sheets..."

Kaoru could only blush in the darkness and responded to her question by wrapping her tightly in his arms. To his relief, she didn't comment further. But that probably meant she'd assumed correctly.

Kaoru stumbled behind Haruhi into her office the next morning. Due to the erm... let's call them "distractions" of the previous evening she had forgotten to tell him she wanted him to come in with her to start their profiling. He had been rudely awoken just ten minutes before having to leave the house by a forceful prod to the ribs. Needless to say, despite the hand-holding, Haruhi was not in is good books this morning. Although the coffee she brought him after plonking him into her chair did soften his mood slightly.

"Is that Kaoru? Don't tell me you're still hung over." Kyoden mocked after coming to greet them.

"I had a rude awakening," he mumbled, moving to jab Haruhi who silently avoided his reach with practised ease. "And yes, I'm Kaoru."

"They worked late," Haruhi explained, lightly fluffing Kaoru's unbrushed hair as he drained his still steaming drink.

Kyoden hovered as he transferred files from a memory stick onto his company tablet. The trio moved into the interview room and Kaoru collapsed onto the sofa. Kyoden and Haruhi took chairs from the desk and sat opposite him.

"Please don't make me math..." Kaoru whined.

"No math," Haruhi promised.

"Just say business, personal, gift," Kyoden put in.

Kaoru sat up and crossed one leg over the other. They began working through the transactions, taking it rather seriously. That is, until Kyoden let out an exasperated sigh at the bottom of the very first page.

It was going to be a long morning. Haruhi fetched her laptop, so they could work through the huge list together. Kaoru marked off his business spending, Haruhi knew enough about his personal spending to cover that, and the gift option was pretty easy to figure.

"You want him to see _everything_ you buy for me?" Haruhi hissed, knowing some of the items were not so innocent.

Kaoru flushed, but considered the alternative, "Rather that than you seeing how much I actually spend on you."

She scowled, knowing the figure was probably extortionate and she was better off staying in the dark. For Kaoru's sake, more than hers. Kyoden could only smirk.

A few hours into their work, the easy silence was broken by a hesitant question.

"So I know any kind of women's clothing is a gift but... what about items from HunnyBunny?" Kyoden asked.

Haruhi's face flushed as she recognised the name of the infamous sex store. But... she cocked Kaoru a look. Neither twin had ever tried anything like _that_ with her.

"I'd put that under personal," Kaoru winked.

Kyoden gaped at the red head's cockiness. He was confident and flirty himself, but this guy took it to a whole new level. And Kaoru was supposed to be the nice twin? He was correct in assuming Haruhi had told the twins about her conversation with Kyoden in the car the other night. Kyoden felt strangely at ease with the young heir. Although he was a little jealous of the easy affection he shared with Haruhi, he had turned it down several notches since the meal the other night. He kept his lips to himself and his hands strayed no further than her shoulders and hair. The affection was friendly.

Haruhi had moved to sit next to Kaoru so they could work in closer contact. Quietly observing whilst completing the mindless task, Kyoden noticed she was a lot reciprocating to his affections than she had been at the meal. Kaoru had been all over her. He had been protective and possessive and ridiculously clingy. She obviously hadn't minded his constant touching and kisses, but she hadn't returned them until she was less sober.

Here, though, they subconsciously brushed against each other or laid a hand on the other whenever they spoke. Even when working silently, they would exchange glances. It was almost as if they rubbed off each other, like a child would seek a comforting toy or blanket. It was clear that this was their natural state together. It had probably developed long before the intimate side of their relationship had.

_Flashback_

Kaoru kept bouncing his knee nervously as he sat with Haruhi in the Ouran stadium while they awaited Hikaru's turn on the court. Haruhi had nagged the older twin for weeks about pursuing the sport he was clearly so interested in. And now, there he was, awaiting his turn in the basketball tryouts.

Haruhi calmed his leg by lightly resting a hand just above his knee. He took that hand in both of his own and squeezed tight. He was so glad to have her here with him; even if he was still a little miffed the girl had practically forced the twins into separate after school clubs. Her comforting touch was greatly appreciated. It reminded him of the way Hikaru would hold him or hug him.

The twins were both very tactile humans, almost to a fault. Especially when Haruhi was the one they chose to stick to. She was always removing arms from around her shoulders, extracting herself from crushing hugs and having to re-comb her hair whenever one of them got their hands on it for too long. They didn't appear to have an ulterior motive in their physical affection – it was just the way they were. They were always so close and cuddly with each other that they didn't really know how to treat another person any differently.

To an extent, she was flattered they wound her into their little world so welcomingly. But on the other hand, their constant fawning could be irritating, particularly in school. This was only the second time she'd initiated any extended contact – the other being a long hug she'd afforded to Hikaru after he faced a particularly difficult speaking exam in French.

Hikaru performed well in the tryouts and was awarded a place on the prestigious team, although it would be a challenge for him to move off the bench when it came to official games. Kaoru dragged Haruhi by the hand he still held into the boys' locker room, ignoring her protests. He abandoned her grip and embraced the already shirt-less Hikaru in a proud, congratulatory hug. It was a few moments before they remembered Haruhi and pulled her in too.

She didn't resist, but soon regretted that decision as she was pressed into Hikaru's sweaty, naked chest by Kaoru who continued to hug his brother from behind the small girl. Attractive as he may be, it wasn't exactly a pleasant experience.

"I shouldn't be in here," she hissed from between them.

She felt the heat rise in her face as both boys stooped to kiss each of her cheeks before letting her escape. She hated it when they kissed her so easily. She could somewhat tolerate it as they said goodnight on their now routine Friday sleepovers, but it would always send strange butterflies rampaging through her body.

Speaking of Friday sleepovers, she was somewhat dreading tonight's. The forecast looked bleak and the clouds were rolling in ahead of schedule. It was already raining lightly as they made their way to the limo. Once at the Hitachiin manor, Kaoru left the rec-room to go and change. Hikaru had changed after his shower at school. Haruhi headed to the small chest of drawers that had appeared by what was now "her" bed the other month, full of androgynous designer clothes that were just Haruhi's size and randomly pulled out an outfit. She changed in seconds in the bathroom, joining Hikaru on the comfy mountain before the game console had even booted up.

"That's hot," he said, running his eyes over the grey, low-rise skinny jeans that hugged her tightly.

His hand gave a quick brush down her arm as she sat next to him. She ignored the gesture. Not that it irked her, it was just a thing Hikaru tended to do. It was a silent greeting just between them. It meant "I'm glad you're here, I hope you're well." Hikaru wasn't quite sure she understood that message, but he felt awkward putting it into words.

Kaoru emerged from the main bedroom and sat on Haruhi's other side. He gave his own silent greeting, a light squeeze of his hand in the crook of her elbow.

"I'll never understand how you change so fast and still manage to look so lovely," he purred.

Midway through the evening, the rain picked up and began berating the window.

"I really hope it doesn't get any worse," Haruhi whimpered.

Kaoru gave her a concerned look. It was an odd tone of voice for just a little rain. Hikaru got up and closed the many curtains in the large room. The soft green colour made the room a little brighter compared to the grey of the sky outside.

They put on a somewhat scary movie as they snacked on the small buffet that had been brought them for dinner. Full, Haruhi lay on her side facing the television and tugged a blanket over her legs. The rain was raging on, but it hadn't gotten any worse.

"That was yummy," she said, smiling.

"Are you cold, Haru?" Hikaru asked, tugging at the blanket around her hips.

She smiled as she heard the short form of her name, "A little..."

He quickly pulled the hoddie over his head and handed it to her, "It's clean," he said, smiling.

"We'll have to stock up on your autumn attire," Kaoru laughed.

Both boys watched in anticipation as she sat up and raised her arms over her head to put the jumper on. The top she wore was tight and the movement revealed just an inch of pale, delicious flesh on her perfectly flat, almost skinny, stomach.

"You look so tiny," Hikaru cooed, tucking her into his side with one arm.

The blue hoodie was huge on her, but she felt warm and wrapped up, just like she had as a child when her dad would drape a blanket over her and they'd cuddle up on cold winter nights. She could hardly stop herself from leaning into Hikaru's comforting arm. She had even less resistance to Kaoru's silky hands running through her hair.

_End of flashback._

"Hikaru wants to meet for lunch in the bistro over the road," Kaoru told Haruhi as he set his phone back down on the arm of the couch. "You're welcome to join us," he smiled at Kyoden.

"Uh... sure. They do the best croissants," he replied, slightly surprised by the offer.

"Get your jacket, Haru. It's windy out."

"I didn't bring one..." she murmured.

"Here," he slipped off his zip-up hooded top he'd thrown on over the long sleeved shirt he wore.

It was an odd outfit, but of course a Hitachiin would always pull it off. Haruhi shrugged into the offered jacket and smiled. The boys' clothes were always stupidly huge on her, but she enjoyed the warmth and familiar, comforting scent. She allowed him to zip it up for her and push the sleeves up slightly. The lime green looked silly with the deep mauve of her little dress, but it was still adorable to Kaoru.

Hikaru pulled Haruhi into a tight hug as they met outside the bistro. He gave a curt nod to Kyoden and they placed their orders at the counter. They chose a booth away from the door. Haruhi was against the wall across from Kaoru, with Hikaru next to her. He fussed over her hair which had been thoroughly ruined by the wind on the short walk from their building to this one. Hikaru kept up most of the conversation as the other three enjoyed their food, realising just how tired and hungry they were.

On the way out, a pair of bubbly young women, probably just out of high school stopped them by the door and gave flirtatious smiles.

"Wow, have I seen you somewhere before?" one of them asked, directed at Kaoru.

"I don't think so," he shrugged casually.

"Maybe it was you," she turned now to Hikaru.

He too shrugged and made to move past the girls, muttering an "excuse us".

The one who was yet to speak pushed herself between Haruhi and Hikaru, placing her hand on the man's arm.

"Why are you leaving so soon? We're on our lunch break. We could sure use the company of such eye candy," she winked at him.

Hikaru stared at the offending hand touching him and pulled away, again reaching for the door.

"You can't leave without at least giving us your numbers," the first one fluttered her eyelids and pushed out her chest, just under his eye-line. She wore a frighteningly low cut blouse.

Kaoru pull Haruhi under his arm and gave a look to both of the girls, "I don't think my princess here would like that very much."

They shot Haruhi a filthy glare but now both focused on Hikaru, "We don't mind sharing..." the second one wrapped her arm around the first girl's waist.

Not un-used to this unwanted attention, Hikaru took the usual way out. When one twin claimed they were already engaged with Haruhi, the other twin, by default, was otherwise inclined.

"Gay," he said easily, casting them a completely fake apologetic smile.

The girls turned to Kyoden and looked him up and down. An evil glint formed in Hikaru's eye and he hooked his arm through the older man's.

"Come on, honey. We should get going before the wind picks back up," he gave his best sexy smile and tugged on Kyoden's arm.

Kyoden could only stand there with his mouth agape. Haruhi was trying desperately to cover her laughter but Kaoru had already lost it and was out the door, dragging Haruhi along. He held the door for a woman in her early thirties.

"Sweetling, we have _so much_ to get done," Hikaru breathed the words hotly down Kyoden's neck.

"Uh... hi," the woman who had just entered said.

"...Hi," Kyoden had flushed bright red and he looked back at the woman now that Hikaru had tugged him onto the street.

"Damn it, guys. That was my sister!"

xxxxxxxxxxxx

**AN: **Another chaotic chapter... sorry. I think my brain is trying to turn this into two stories in one. Obviously the main one, where they're adults but also their developing relationships int their teenhood/college lives. I promise I do actually have a plan for where this will go... but getting there?! Hahahaha, nah, my dumbass brain just does what it wants. I love the Haru/Kao scene in the beginning of this, but overall, I'm not that happy with this chapter.

As always, all my love!

Amelie.


	9. Chapter 9

"Kyoya, what would you do?" Tamaki asked his best friend.

"Mrugh" was the only response from the man enswathed within the plush blankets on his bed.

"I know, I know. I read the file you gave me. But I just can't get her out of my head!"

"Hnng."

"You're right. I should just text her. But what do I say?!"

"Why did I ever give you a key to my apartment?" Kyoya grunted, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

"Damn, Kyo, that would never work. It's kinda creepy... and it doesn't even make sense."

"I meant you, you big idiot!"

Kyoya swept his sheets aside and they landed on Tamaki's head, covering him completely. It was barely ten o'clock on a Saturday no less and he'd had Tamaki sat by him, rambling away as he did, for at least three hours. Tamaki poked only his face out of the blankets and pouted at his friend.

Kyoya knew exactly what was coming.

Those dreaded puppy-dog eyes.

Despite a decade of dealing with them, he'd never developed any immunity to the adorable face the ridiculous halfer could pull out whenever the mood met him. As innocent as he often appeared, Kyoya knew he was a sly devil.

But who could resist that face?

Obviously not Kyoya. The raven haired man put his glasses on and stretched. He slept in only shorts, but he had no sense of embarrassment in front of his closet companion and strode without hesitation to the bathroom to ready himself for the day.

On his return to the bedroom, Tamaki was still poking his face out through the sheets.

"Put it away. I'll help you," Kyoya scoffed.

Tamaki's face brightened considerably and he headed to the living room to wait for Kyoya, who quickly got dressed into his usual bespoke attire.

"You're aware that the Hitachiin brothers own the penthouse apartment, right?" he chided Tamaki.

"Well... no. But what's that got to do with it?"

Kyoya pulled his laptop towards him and began to hack the Prism's security cameras. He began to rewind, stopping at 6:30am when a familiar blonde man entered the residential elevator.

"So here's you..." Kyoya pointed out.

He rewound further, looking for the distinctive masses of red hair. The tape continued back to lunch time the following day, when they finally caught sight of one of the twins leaving the building.

"So they didn't come home last night? Where else could they have gone?"

"Fujioka's, obviously."

"What? You mean they stay over at her house?"

"House? Please. She's a commoner, the shack she lives in barely qualifies as an apartment."

"It was a figure of speech, Kyoya. And what do you mean _shack_? How can those twins let her live in poverty?!"

"That was also a figure of speech, dumbass."

"I still don't understand the point of this..."

"The point is, if they stay over at hers, then naturally she'll spend time at theirs too. Keep watching..."

Kyoya flicked to a clip he'd obviously saved beforehand, knowing this was going to happen. It showed Haruhi entering the elevator and heading up to the penthouse. It was obvious she had her own keys, and that she was very familiar with using them. Tamaki watched as the tape fast forwarded, watching as the time slipped into evening. One twin went down and came back up with a pizza. The time eventually slipped into night, to early morning and then around about 7:30, Haruhi and one of the twins came down.

Not only had she obviously spent the night, she'd also gotten ready for work in a fresh, gorgeous outfit. She couldn't have had that hiding in the small bag she carried for work... she obviously kept clothes there.

"This is hardly helping, Kyoya."

"No... but if you're too scared to text her, a chance encounter with her in the elevator would be completely coincidental..."

"... You're an evil man, Ootori. This is why _you_ don't have a key to _my_ apartment."

Kyoya clasped his hand on Tamaki's shoulder, "Breakfast?"

"On me."

As Tamaki laced his shoes, Kyoya flicked to the real-time tab on the security cameras and clocked a look at the 2nd floor cafe. His timing was, of course, perfect. Such creatures of habit...

Tamaki skipped ahead of him in white trousers and an orange smock. Kyoya could never get over his ridiculously European dress sense.

"Are we going to the cafe _again_ Kyoya?" Tamaki whined.

"Yes. I enjoy their Danishes."

"Why can't we go somewhere more romantic?" he said with a wave of his arm.

"Romantic? Tono, your choice of phrasing really is questionable sometimes."

"You know what I mean!"

There was no way Kyoya was going to let Tamaki ruin the plan he'd spent all night calculating. He lost enough sleep over this guy as it was; there was no way it was going to be for nothing! The cafe was casual and similar to a school canteen. They collected their food and began heading through to the seating area.

"Tamaki, don't you know them?" Kyoya asked coolly and nodded his head in the direction of a tucked away window seat.

Two unmissable tufts of red hair peaked out.

"Hey, it's the Hitachiin brothers. Hikaru, Kaoru!" Tamaki called out, dashing towards them.

Kyoya followed at a distance, hovering as Tamaki flung himself into a seat opposite a twin in a green shirt.

The twins looked at each other, then at Tamaki, and back at each other. The other twin, wearing a grey basket-ball like vest, cast a glance out of the corner of his eye to Kyoya. Kyoya assumed this twin to be Hikaru, since he had been on both the high school and college basketball teams. Kaoru also looked towards him and gave a weak smile. He'd always had a reputation as the kinder twin.

"Suoh," Hikaru stated in almost disbelief.

"What-"

"Are-"

"You-"

"Doing-"

"Here?"

Kyoya was fascinated at how effortlessly the twins alternated their words. He was also slightly amused the twins didn't even bother with a formal greeting, despite being members of such a high class family. Although, it was somewhat unsurprising since Tamaki had barged in on their breakfast. Even though that was a little bit Kyoya's fault...

Kyoya approached the table but didn't make a move to make himself welcome in the group. Balancing his tray carefully, he offered his hand to the nearest twin.

"I'd like to introduce myself as Ootori Kyoya. I assume you remember me from school. I'll apologise for his behaviour on Mr. Suoh's behalf... as you can see, he hasn't changed."

Kaoru nudged the increasingly irritated Hikaru under the table to soften his mood.

"It's been a while," Kaoru said, looking up at Kyoya. "You might as well join us."

Tamaki chatted animatedly about the meal they had had earlier in the week, though he'd already filled Kyoya in on all of the details, the other man pretended to be interested.

It suddenly dawned on Tamaki that the prominent character in his tale was missing from the table.

"Is Miss. Fujioka not with you?" he asked, cutting himself off.

"We dropped her off at her Dad's before coming here," Kaoru told him.

"What a wonderful young lady, spending time with her family," Tamaki said wistfully.

Hikaru shrugged, "She always sees him on a Saturday. And we always come here... never seen you two here before though," he eyed Kyoya suspiciously. "I thought this cafe was only for residents?"

"I have an apartment here I use when I work in the city," Kyoya explained.

"I've had a wonderful idea!" Tamaki exclaimed. "We should meet up later and all go out for drinks! It'll be just like old times, in the club."

"The club never happened," Hikaru and Kaoru said together.

"In his head, it probably did." Kyoya scoffed and shared a small laugh with the twins. "But it's not a bad idea. I'd love to meet Miss. Fujioka. Tamaki won't shut up about her."

Kyoya eyed the twin's reactions. Hikaru looked a little affronted, but Kaoru looked more pleased than anything. Tamaki had told him Kaoru had provided him with Haruhi's personal number, and they'd briefly discussed the attraction that was obviously held for her.

"Well..." Hikaru started, not sounding convinced.

"The least we can do is ask her," Kaoru smiled, secretly subduing his brother under the table.

"In that case, it's my date," Hikaru said triumphantly.

"You sound very confident..." Kyoya mused.

The twins smiled at each other, and said together, "She never says no."

_Later_.

"No," Haruhi demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Pleeeease?" Hikaru begged, holding her by the waist as he became more persistent.

"No way in hell."

She turned and walked away from them into the glossy kitchen, unloading the dishwasher.

Kaoru hooked his arms around Hikaru's neck and loudly whispered.

"Am I not good enough to be your date, Hika?"

"Oh Kaoru, don't say things like that. You know I love you more than anyone."

"But you always want to hangout with Haruhi rather than me."

"You know that's not true. Our love means more to me than anything I could share with any woman," he cupped Kaoru's face and kissed his lips lightly.

"If you stop it, I'll come," Haruhi sighed and crossed her arms again.

They were always doing this to get their way. Once bribing her with food had lost its power, they'd begun doing what annoyed her the most. Of course, she loved how close they were to each other. She didn't care if they shared a bed or cuddled on the couch. Even the odd kiss was somewhat acceptable. But displays like... well, _this_ took it a step too far. She couldn't pin point the feeling. It was somewhere between disgust and jealousy.

_Flashback_

Haruhi woke up well rested in the plush bed at the Hiatchiins'. Her face snuggled into something soft and warm, and it took her a moment to realise Hikaru's sweatshirt was by her pillow. She smiled, thankful for its comfort when she had heard the distant storm in the night. It had passed over their town and though it still rained, she had hardly heard the thunder. She headed to the bathroom and put her contact lenses in. It must have been really early in the morning, as the twins usually came into her room when they woke up to pester her.

She tentatively tiptoed through their shared bathroom and peaked around the door. Kaoru lay facing her with Hikaru wrapped around his back, snoring lightly. Kaoru's eyes flickered open as the door made a tiny creak.

"Hey," he whispered, reaching out a hand as far as he could in Hikaru's grip and beckoning her over.

Haruhi hesitated. Both boys were obviously naked from the waist up and she didn't even want to think about what they may or may not be wearing down below. She herself wore a button down night shirt and uncomfortably short shorts that her father insisted on to maintain some dignity. Kaoru's face changed into an adorable pleading look and she sighed, unwillingly walking towards him.

He tugged her the last few inches by clasping his hand around her elbow and she found herself sitting next to his head. He gave her arm a light squeeze but didn't let go.

"Did you sleep well?"

She nodded, she always did when she was here. It was somewhat annoying she seemed to be more comfortable here than in her own home but then again... she was always alone at home. She shivered slightly at the negative thought.

"Are you cold?" Kaoru asked. He held up the covers slightly. "Come on."

She hesitated again but there was something... sincere about his offer. He wasn't acting clingy or touchy like the twins usually could. The offer was genuine and caring.

"I'll be good," he half-teased.

It was a large bed and the twins were tucked into the middle, leaving a good few feet for Haruhi to have for herself.

"You better be," she muttered, but slid in next to him anyway.

Her feet brushed against his legs and she became aware that he wasn't wearing pants. She crossed her fingers he at least had shorts on.

"Your feet are like little ice cubes," he hissed, but trapped her feet between his warm legs anyway.

"I thought you were being good!"

"I'm only warming you up," he cooed, reaching an arm over her and rolling her onto her side to face him.

He kept the arm over her, but it was loose and there was a good gap between them. She became distinctly aware how close Hikaru must be pressed into Kaoru and felt a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. They both looked so comfortable but... did she want to trade places with one of them? She shuddered again and Kaoru's arm started rubbing up and down her back.

After a few moments of silence, she felt Kaoru's arm relax and press more weight into her. His breathing was also deeper.

"Kao?" she whispered.

"Hn?" was his short reply. His arm loosened again as he became conscious of it, and she somehow missed its presence.

The twins played this weird game at school. They would draw attention to themselves by loving on each other, only to then shut out everyone who seemed interested and gaze into each other's eyes. Haruhi had never found the appeal in this little act. She didn't care if they were gay... she was more against it because they were brothers. People at school didn't know they took the act home with them... and they certainly didn't know they shared a bed. She had known about it for months and not been so bothered. She'd seen the size of the bed and assumed they slept apart but this... they were like a couple.

"You really are close, huh?" she asked, the words breathy as she became more and more comfortable in the bed.

Kaoru opened his eyes to see her closer than he remembered. He flushed a little, before realising it wasn't their proximity she was talking about.

"He's my best friend. I love him," he said simply, locking her eyes with his. "We don't like being apart."

"I don't like being alone, either," she confessed somewhat shyly.

"You'll never be alone. You're with us now."

She subconsciously shuffled closer and his arm tightened around her in a comforting hug. Eyes closed, he pressed his forehead against hers, the same way he and Hikaru often did. She suddenly felt another arm, this one lower on her waist.

"You can sleep with us any time you want, Haruhi," Hikaru purred.

Neither she nor Kaoru had realised he'd stopped snoring.

_End of flashback._

Hikaru bounced over to her and scooped her into a hug.

"That's my girl," he sang, kissing her neck affectionately.

"When do we go?" she said, reluctantly hugging him back.

"Tonight!" Kaoru declared proudly, joining the hug from behind Haruhi and kissing the other side of her neck.

"Urgh. Fine. But I'm not wearing heals. And I get to sleep in my own room tonight."

"Boo!" Hikaru moaned.

"Don't you like sleeping with us, Haruhi?" Kaoru mewled in her ear.

She sighed, "I haven't had a night alone since last Thursday."

"But you don't like being alone," Hikaru mumbled into her neck.

His hot breath tingled her as she struggled for an argument.

"I don't mind a _little_ bit of space. Don't sulk. It's just one night."

She petted the pouting duo and escaped their grasp, continuing her initial mission of cleaning up the twins' penthouse where she had been dragged after visiting her father. Kaoru went into his room, probably to do some work, but Hikaru was bored. He followed Haruhi into his room, where she was hanging up his clean clothes.

"So what's Ootori like?" Haruhi asked him, feeling his breath on the back of her hair as he tried oh-so hard to steal a hug.

She could always catch him sneaking around.

"Terrifying," he said, referring to both Haruhi's sixth sense and the man in question.

"Why? He's only human. He can't be that bad."

"I'm not so sure about the human front, to be honest," Hikaru mumbled, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "I don't like him very much."

"You don't like anyone. What does Kaoru think?"

"Hey! I like you! And he's all soft and accepting as always."

"Is it really such a bad thing your brother wants to make friends?" she scolded.

He brought his knees up to his chest, "No... I just don't want to lose him."

"Don't be silly. He'll always be your brother."

Haruhi sighed and gave him a hug to the side, resting her chin on his head as he recoiled further inside himself. Hikaru had always had trouble accepting other people. He had such great difficulty making sense of his thoughts and feelings that Haruhi and Kaoru often wondered if he dabbled into the Autism spectrum. He didn't really want to think about this right now. He'd come to her looking for a distraction from the anxiety growing inside him, worried about her being with Suoh again.

"Take you clothes off," he demanded, shifting his mood by shoving the thoughts to the back of his mind.

"What? No way. I've been tired all week. We're not doing that before a night out, I'll be passed out by ten!" Haruhi retorted, releasing the hug and walking away.

"Just let me play," he protested, standing up and wrapping her in his arms from behind.

In a quick movement he'd scooped her up with one arm and stood her on the stool he used at his vanity. Because only the Hitachiin twins could have dressing tables in their bedrooms and still be respected as manly.

"Off!" Hikaru said again, not waiting for a reply as he tugged down on her leggings.

"Fine, fine," she huffed, pulling off the t-shirt that Hikaru recognised as his own.

"We get you all these lovely things and you go around in our dirty laundry. Honestly, I thought you would've learned better by now."

"You wore it for three hours. It's hardly dirty. And it's only for mooching around the house in."

Sometime during her protest Hikaru had unsnapped her bra and now she stood in nothing more than a violet, lacy thong. Honestly, not her preferred choice in underwear but considering the twins governed her wardrobe, she had little other choice. She stood with her back facing the window, thankful that not only were they so high up, but that the windows were also tinted. She would hate for them to be in her own apartment right now as the twins were forever forgetting to close the blinds. Hikaru was looking at her intently from all angles.

"What are you staring at?" she quizzed.

"Just admiring the view," he grinned back, obviously not referring to the expansive Tokyo skyline.

Even stood on the stool like a pedestal, Haruhi was only a few inches taller than him. She was still as tiny and petite as she had been in high school. Her stomach and legs were as slim and lean as ever, and there was just a hint of her ribs showing through. Her barely-there AA from school now filled a small cut B, and her other womanly proportions were still just as subtle.

Hikaru found the small amount of flesh on her hip bones particularly tantalising.

He soon began rummaging in a chest he'd brought up from the office earlier that week. Soon, he was heading her way holding what appeared to be a bundle of strings. She let him position the apparent "top" half of whatever ensemble it was around her chest and then he eyed her thong greedily.

"This will have to go too," he teased, stooping down and nibbling the fabric at her delicious hips.

Haruhi couldn't help but whimper a little as his tongue brushed the inside of her thigh. He replaced the thong with another bundle of strings and stepped back, to observe the finished product.

It was supposed to be a bikini, but there was barely enough fabric to cover anything of importance. It was held on with three strings running around both the top and the bottom and tied in a complicated knot around a clasp in the front.

"I hope you're not putting this in the Ru range," she grumbled, feeling very much more naked that she was without clothes.

"No... but I might pack it next time we take you to the beach," he winked. "Don't you like it?"

"Don't ask stupid questions," she moaned, twitching as he grazed his fingers over the fabric at her breast.

"I like it," they both turned to see Kaoru leaning in the doorway. "But maybe something less revealing for tonight, don't you think?"

The dress he pulled out from the chest had a navy skirt with small pleats. The top half had a navy bodice underneath with navy lace over the top, embellished with silver sequins. The neckline was high and though sleeveless, the straps were wide on her shoulders and it almost reached her knees. It was modest, but when Haruhi was wearing it both twins were just as entranced as they had been with the bikini.

They completed her look with navy eye shadow and a hint of sparkle on her neck. Both twins wore black shirts with silver trim around the collar and down the front with black trousers. The only difference was that Kaoru wore a navy waistcoat and Hikaru had a navy cap. Apparently they'd liked the look Haruhi had chosen for them the other night, when she'd made them look different for the sake of the others in the group, and had decided to roll with it as a signature style.

"So where are we going?" Haruhi asked as Kaoru braided her hair into a waterfall effect and Hikaru buckled the black, sparkly sandals around her feet.

"The White Lily Lounge," Kaoru told her.

The twins had been to the infamously elegant club a few times before. Entry was expensive and the manager was notoriously choosy about her elite guests. Only the wealthiest and classiest were granted the luxury of the overhyped, overpriced lounge. However, due to the celebrity of the usual customers, privacy was top notch, with a ban on all journalists and photography of any kind.

Kaoru gave Haruhi a brief kiss on the lips before passing her hand over to Hikaru. They rarely kissed or touched her in such a way in front of each other, and Hikaru gaped a little, caught off guard at essentially seeing his own lips pressing into hers.

"She's all yours," Kaoru said.

"Then let's go," Hikaru grinned, regaining his senses and wrapping his fingers around Haruhi's.

xxxxxxxxxx

**AN:** Definitely had more fun with this chapter! I didn't even want to stop but I knew I had to end it before getting them into the club. Hope my regular readers are still enjoying this, and I'm sorry it's a little slow.

How would people feel if I put the flashback chapters into their own story, with added others? Kind of a series of one shots?

Anyway, thanks for reading and thanks even more to those who show their support through reviews and follows.

All my love,

Amelie.


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